Insider Podcast: From Concrete To Clay

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

On this episode, WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen reviews the final weekend of the Miami Open, where Victoria Azarenka continued her incredible start to the season by winning her third title of the year, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets to win Miami and become just the third woman to complete the Sunshine Double. Hear from Azarenka herself as she discusses her upcoming transition to the clay, the inherent stress of going for the American sweep in March, and how she feels to be back in the conversation amongst the game’s elite.

Nguyen is also joined by 18-time major champion and BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore ambassador Martina Navratilova to analyze the first three months of the season and preview the upcoming clay swing. Are World No.1s Serena Williams and Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis stuck in a slump? Can Victoria Azarenka continue to rack up titles on a less favorable surface like clay? Can Petra Kvitova win without a coach? Navratilova weighs in on those questions and more in a free-ranging discussion of 2016’s contenders and pretenders so far.

Azarenka: “Being a part of the discussion, I don’t listen to it that much, because it’s not interesting to me. Opinions, talks, it’s all more for people who are outside the sport. For me, I need to work and focus on my work, because it’s not going to happen if I don’t put the work in.”

Navratilova on Serena: “You don’t panic. Not when it comes to a great player like Serena Williams. I just think she needs to find some joy. It seems to me she’s just not happy on the court. Even when things were ot going her way it seemed like she was embracing that fight and right now I don’t see her embracing that fight. Sometimes that’s enough to not be able to finish those comebacks. If she finds that emotion, that passion for being in those fights then I think she’ll right the ship. There’s nothing wrong with her game.”

Navratilova on Kvitova: “Coachless doesn’t work. You can’t coach yourself. Even Roger Federer needed a coach. He was always with Severin Lüthi but he would pick up other people.”

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