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Victoria Azarenka was the protagonist of a moment of tension at Wimbledon, in front of the media, after the battle won in three tough sets against the Chinese Yue Yuan with the final score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. One question was not quite welcome and created a climate of unease and tension at the press conference.
The tennis player was perplexed when a reporter asked her what the London tournament meant for a Russian, in terms of culture. The 33-year-old reacted: "You know I'm not Russian, right?" The reporter rephrased her question in an attempt to find out the player's opinion in general terms on how she sees the impact of the demonstration in the Russian country.
The Belarusian, however, didn't quite know what to say, but to be fair she still wanted to answer: "Wimbledon is one of the greatest tournaments, it always has been and it is one of the oldest in history. It's iconic. I don't know how they see it in Russia.
I'm not from Russia, so I don't know how he feels there."
Azarenka speaks on the reception of the crowd
Azarenka talked also about the receprion of the crowd, during the press conference: "Honestly, it was really nice. The people are very nice, I personally got very good treatment.
Of course some accidents happen sometimes, but I felt very welcome. I have been supported everywhere and I really appreciate this part. Hearing people rooting for me is also a reason I play, so that was great." The athlete added about the match and the tension of the debut: "It was a decidedly difficult match.
A lot of difficult conditions, like the lot of wind. It was my first match here and my opponent already had a few matches behind her. It's good to play here. I was excited to go out there to compete two years later. I was certainly a little nervous, but enthusiastic at the same time."