Australian Open: Madam Meltdown takes major step

MELBOURNE: Victoria Azarenka's meltdowns are so notorious they can be seen on YouTube, but the 22-year-old Belarusian is showing new-found resilience and could be ready for her major breakthrough.
Azarenka has always had the game for the top level but in the past she has let herself down by losing the battle with her own emotions, handing victory to her opponent.
Her most infamous incident came at the 2010 Australian Open when she led eventual champion Serena Williams by a set and 4-0 before imploding and losing to the American.
But ahead of her Australian Open final against Maria Sharapova on Saturday, the likeable Belarusian was relaxed enough to joke about her past problems.
"I had, how do you call it, meltdowns? There you go," Azarenka said.
"Yeah, I had some. For sure you can see some on YouTube. But, you know, I grow as a player, I grow as a person, and I try to learn from my mistakes and make it better.
"So I'm proud of what I'm doing. I just want to keep going and keep raising that level."
Azarenka won her first title in Brisbane in 2009 and has since claimed another eight, including the Sydney International in January.
She puts her increased emotional stability down to a strict physical regime in the off-season, which she said now has her in the best shape of her career.
And Azarenka showed how much she had improved when she recovered from a second-set wobble against defending champion Kim Clijsters to reach the final.
"I think I'm in the best shape physically right now, so it kind of helps other aspects of the game. I feel pretty good out there," she said.
Azarenka is the first Belarusian woman to reach a grand slam final since Natasha Zvereva finished runner-up at the French Open in 1988, representing the USSR, and can now become the country's first major-winner.
She also has the chance to become the first woman to win both the junior girls and women's singles titles in Melbourne since Australia's Chris O'Neil in 1978.
"I won my first grand slam as a junior here, so Australia's always going to be very special place for me," she said.
Minsk-born Azarenka, who now lives next-door to Caroline Wozniacki in Monte Carlo, is also inspired by her hard-working compatriots and especially her grandmother, who held a job into her 70s.
"Belarusian people have a mentality of really hard-working people. You can see outside the capitals, big cities, how neat and clean the areas are. So I think that speaks a lot," she said.
"It's just amazing to see how much people work, and we are here playing tennis and sometimes complaining about little things. It's a little bit silly. It's really interesting to see a different kind of life."