Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka Not Fast Friends

Written by: Staff on 27th January 2012

Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka Not Fast Friends

Maria Sharapova of Russia in action during her women's singles third round match against Angelique Kerber of Germany at at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 21 January 2012. EPA/MAST IRHAM |

When Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka step on court for the Australian Open women’s final on Saturday, there will be no love lost between the two. Last year in Rome during Sharapova’s victory over the Belarusian, Azarenka allegedly called her foe a “bitch.” Two months before that, the two flew to a Nike exhibition together to Portland, Oregon, and did not speak a word to each other on the flight.

Both women are very prideful and have admitted to being mistrustful. While Sharapova and her representatives have done a good job of polishing her image since she came to fame in 2004 when she won Wimbledon, Azarenka’s team has had to work super hard over the past year and half to convince her that putting on pleasant face in public would benefit her. The temperamental 22-year-old is considered by some in the tennis industry to be one of the most difficult players to work with. Last summer she admitted that she was headed down the wrong path.

“I actually regret that stuff a lot because I could have turned around a few things and people getting to know me better, not starting now and that would have been more in my favor. But I have time.”

Interestingly, Azarenka and Sharapova have had to defend their similar on court breathing exhalation styles during the Australian Open. Both have been criticized for grunting too loudly.

Australian host broadcaster Channel 7 has been using a grunt-o-meter to detect the volume of their grunts and they have been taken to task in Aussie newspapers.

“I guess some people are just bored. They created that machine that can measure it. So I mean, money well spent, huh?” Azarenka said in disgust.

Earlier in the week, the two had an indirect confrontation when Azarenka’s friend Agnieszka Radwanska said that Sharapova’s grunting bothered her, Azarenka’s didn’t.

“Isn’t she back in Poland already?,” Sharapova said with a sneer, and then went on to say: “I’ve heard [the grunting complaints] a few times over my career. You’ve watched me grow up, you’ve watched me play tennis. I’ve been the same over the course of my career. No one important enough has told me to change or do something different.”

Azarenka did say that when she and Sharapova play, she could hear the Russian’s grunting.

“I’m not deaf,” she said. “Of course I hear her. I’m sure she hears me. And about another 15,000 people hear us maybe even further away It doesn’t bother me. I respect every opponent. Whatever they do, they try to do their best job. I think that’s fair enough