Victoria Azarenka became only the third player to make the semi-finals at the Miami Open after turning 34 as she battled for almost three hours to see off Yulia Putinseva.
Three-time Miami Open champion Azarenka prevailed 7-6(4) 1-6 6-3 in a gruelling that tested the fitness levels of the veteran Belerusian, who moved into the last four in this tournament for the fifth time in her career.
Tennis greats Chris Evert (1989) and Venus Williams (2017) were the other two players to make the final four in Miami after toasting their 34th birthday and Azarenka admitted she was flagging by the end of the match.
“My legs were giving a little bit and I lost a little bit of self-belief because she was playing so well, was moving me around everywhere, but I’m very happy I was able to regroup, reset and take my chances and play more aggressive,” Azarenka told the Tennis Channel.
“It was really fun and entertaining, but the first set took nearly an hour and a half and I was like, this is going to be a long day.
“Yulia played some great tennis. She had some big wins at Indian Wells and she is a great competitor, so I know she is going to fight until the last ball.
“She has improved a lot this year. She has more variety on the ball, but I regrouped and didn’t allow her to do what she wanted to do.
“I’m never going to give up whether I am on one leg or two legs!
“There’s a lot of new players that are on the tour and you have to figure out how they play. The young girls are fearless.
“One thing about my career is I always try to evolve myself. On court, off court, fitness wide… the feeling that I still have potential and I can improve this or that.
“That, for me, is a big motivator. I’ve had a great career, but the feeling that I still have potential is exciting. Once I feel like there is no way up, that will be the end of me and you won’t see me again.
“I want to continue to learn. I’m always just going to be a student of life, a student of learning.
“I want to play the top girls, I want to be in the late stages of tournaments. To play the average third round, fourth round, that’s not exciting to me.”
When asked who she is looking up to and drawing inspiration from at this late phase of her tennis career, Azarenka has no hesitation in picking out world No 1 Novak Djokovic.
“I try to get inspiration from Novak,” she added. “He looks like he’s still 19-years-old!
“I don’t feel like 34. I don’t feel like I’ve played 20 years on tour. Sometimes when you wake up in the morning, the body lets you know.”
Azarenka is up to No 25 in the live WTA Tour rankings and if she can get back into the top 20, she will be the oldest player on that elite list by some distance.
She may have achieved more than most players in a career that has been enduringly impressive, but Azarenka is eager to reach out for more.
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