‘Close the F*****G Gate’ – Frustrated Victoria Azarenka Lashes Out Amidst Disappointing Performance Against Iga Swiatek at Italian Open 2022

Yesterday, World Number 1, Iga Swiatek defeated Victoria Azarenka in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals of the Italian Open 2022. It was a morale-breaking loss for the former World Number 1 Azarenka, who was looking to dig deep at the tournament. Earlier this year, she had several third-round exits. With her Italian Open defeat yesterday, Azarenka’s disappointing run continued this season.

Quite understandably, the Belarusian was frustrated by the manner with which Swiatek dominated her throughout the course of the match. Further, she expressed her frustration at one of the spectators.

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Victoria Azarenka lashes out at a spectator

During the match, the 32-year-old was not happy with disturbances behind her while she was serving. Subsequently, she made her displeasure felt and screamed, “Close the f*****g gate. Close the gate.”

However, this is not the first time in recent months that Azarenka has lost her cool. Earlier this year at the Qatar Open, she lost her cool when Yulia Putintseva disturbed her service. Further, Azarenka expressed her frustration towards the chair umpire and said, “Before my serve, she can do that. What’s the problem? She has to wait for me to serve. She threw her racquet, like, 7 times.” 

Subsequently, when the umpire corrected her and said the incident had happened four times, Azarenka replied, “Oh, four, four is okay. She needs a mental coach, she needs a psychiatrist.”

Iga Swiatek continues her winning momentum

With the third-round victory over Azarenka at the Italian Open, Swiatek took her winning streak to 25 matches. In the process, she joined an elite club of players who have managed to achieve this feat. Other tennis players who have managed this feat include the likes of Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Justine Henin, Azarenka, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.

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Further, Swiatek will face Bianca Andreescu in the last eight. Their match will take place later today.