Fit, inspired Azarenka ready to roll

In what will be just her second tournament back after a 13-month injury and pregnancy lay-off, Victoria Azarenka is back at Wimbledon and adding star power to the women’s field.

The former world No.1 and two-time major champion is an unseeded danger lurking in the draw at SW19, having returned to tennis earlier than originally planned after giving birth to son Leo in December.

She opens against American young gun CiCi Bellis and despite having played just two competitive matches prior to this year’s Championships, she will nonetheless be demanding plenty from herself in her first Wimbledon campaign in two years.

“My expectations for myself are always really high in terms of my effort, in terms of my preparation. Everything I can do in my power to be at my best that particular day,” she said on Saturday.

“In terms of results, I don’t know. I never actually thought about it that much. I think it’s more coming from the outside how you’re going to do. But as long as I do hundred percent, give my best effort, I’m good with that.

“My coach, Michael (Joyce), asked me one morning, he’s like, Hey, I think you’ve been training really well. I think you’ll be ready to go and play early. What do you think about starting Wimbledon, maybe a little bit earlier?

“At first, I wasn’t really sure if I was ready mentally, because I planned everything, tickets and stuff, how we going to travel, all the arrangements, starting in Stanford (later in July).

“So I thought about it for about a week, I think maybe even two. I felt like I was ready to compete. I was tired of practicing, just keep going through drills.

“I needed competition.”

Azarenka’s first taste of that competition came last week in Mallorca, a tournament at which she trained with Bellis.

The Belarusian struggled through her first-round match against Risa Ozaki before getting belted off the court by Croatian Ana Konjuh in the second round.

RELATED: Konjuh cuts short Azarenka comeback

It was a result the high-achieving Azarenka would not have been accustomed to – yet you could say that about many aspects of her life now.

Azarenka talked on Saturday about having to modify her airport travel process with a baby in tow (“definitely you have to get to the airport earlier than I used to”) and adjusting to a new sleeping pattern thanks to nighttime feeds.

There’s also the fact that she no longer focuses solely on her tennis, an adjustment she described as tricky given the selfish nature of the sport, but also one that had imbued her life with a greater balance and perspective.

Yet it’s not like Azarenka has lost any of her competitive drive.

“I want to think that I’m only getting better as a player,” she said.

“I will need time for (results). But in terms of how I feel on the court, the way I think I got smarter as a player over the years, I think I’m a better player today than before. My hundred percent in terms of effort, I think it’s more demanding now because I expect myself to be present every single moment I’m on the court.

“I think I improved (physically) the most in this break. I definitely feel fitter than I ever were before. I want to continue to go into that direction.

“In tennis, and in tournaments, you can feel great on the practice court, but to be able to transfer that into the match I think is a real art. Sometimes it takes time. Sometimes it clicks right away. You never know.

“I think I’m on the right path to bringing all those components together and try to play better than I ever was before.”