Victoria Azarenka won her first career Grand Slam title with a 6-3, 6-0 dismissal of Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open championship Saturday night. In so doing, Azarenka also was crowned the new empress of women's tennis.
The notion of a No. 1 with a Grand Slam trophy on her mantle is a radical concept on the WTA Tour after a series of recent No. 1s - Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Dinara Safina - came under heavy criticism for holding the top ranking without winning a major. So, for now, that talk will subside.
And beyond the distracting racket that drowned out the few great rallies the two women provided during a lopsided final, the 22-year-old from Belarus can bask in her mission accomplished.
"Right after the win I couldn't understand what's happening, you know, and I could not believe the tournament is over because it's been so long, this road since (the first warm-up event in) Sydney," Azarenka said. "I didn't have one day off, so it kind of kept going kept going and right now it still hasn't hit me that it's over and I won this."
She took a few games to get going. But at 2-2, Azarenka reeled off 10 of the remaining 11 games to hand Sharapova a major pasting.
The 24-year-old from Russia, the 2008 champion, had a poor day at the office.
Had Azarenka not handled her first major final with such poise, had she felt the nerves that have historically tortured other Grand Slam final first-timers, perhaps Sharapova might have found a way.
As it was, she went down in a flurry of unforced errors in an effort to try to dictate points against an opponent who also makes her living that way - and was in full flight.
"She did everything better than I did today. I had a good first couple of games, and that was about it. Then she was the one that was taking the first ball and hitting it deep and aggressive. I was always the one running around like a rabbit, trying to play catch-up all the time," Sharapova said. "She was a step quicker. First shot was bigger. Just not a good combination, I guess."
It was the second Grand Slam final in six months that Sharapova lost to one of the "next generation."
She was defeated 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final last summer by Petra Kvitova. But having played little since September, save for a couple of hobbled performances at the World Tour finals in Istanbul, Turkey in November, because of a sprained ankle, Sharapova was pleased to be there on the final Saturday of a tournament she entered with many doubts and few expectations.
For Azarenka, the victory was a long time coming, if such a thing can be said of a 22-year-old. She was a can't-miss junior who won the girls' event here in 2005 at age 15 (defeating Aleksandra Wozniak of Blainville, Que., in the semifinals). But for a long time, her head got in the way of her game.
Slowly but surely over the last few years, with the help of French coach Sam Sumyk, Azarenka has been maturing both as a person and a player.
"I feel like he was not pushing me, but guiding me towards that mental approach, you know, to that winning attitude. He helped me to find my way, so I think I owe him a lot for that, for educating me," she said of her coach. "I think it's important, especially for the young players, to have that education. That you have to learn how to do it yourself, because (at) the end of the day you're the one who's holding the racket. Nobody else is going to do that for you."
Azarenka has morphed from a hotheaded player with a bigger game to an emotionally stable player who has improved her movement, upped her consistency and - most importantly - no longer beats herself.
She isn't a particular favourite among tournament support staff, to whom she can be dismissive. The ball kids aren't huge fans, either. The paying customers, who at times during this tournament mimicked her long, extended squeals even if the crowd for the final match was fairly respectful, will have to warm to her.
But at 22, the Grand Slam ice broken, she has time to work on all that as well.
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