Thursday, 27 June 2013 00:00
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Reuters: It was all pain and no gain for Victoria Azarenka on Wednesday as the Belarussian’s Wimbledon odyssey ended with a bruised and battered knee before her second round match on Centre Court.
The Australian Open champion was scheduled to face Italian doubles specialist Flavia Panetta but the fans were still filing in when the PA announcer said: “Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Victoria Azarenka has had to withdraw due to an injury.”
The collective groan that buzzed around the court was nothing compared to the anguish going through Azarenka’s mind after she suffered the injury in a first-round match on Monday.
“I couldn’t be any more disappointed. I love playing here,” said the crestfallen 23-year-old, who reached the semi-finals in 2011 and 2012. “To not be able to kind of play just because of... such bad luck is very, very frustrating. I couldn’t be more disappointed.”
Azarenka, who had romped to a 6-1 1-0 lead against Portugal’s Maria Joao Koehler on Monday when she had a nasty fall, bemoaned her luck and blamed the abrupt end to her Wimbledon campaign on a “slippery court”.
