Victoria Azarenka's US Open took an unfortunate and dramatic turn when the Belarusian collapsed and was helped off the court in a wheelchair during her second round match against Gisela Dulko on Wednesday.Azarenka looked out of sorts from the first point of the match, which she double-faulted, and quickly fell to an 0-4 deficit. On the first changeover she summoned a trainer, who appeared to test her for signs of dizziness and exhaustion but did not request a medical timeout.
The No. 10 seed continued to falter, however, winning just one game and swiping in vain at a particularly awkward service toss which she lost in the sun. Then, serving at 1-5, 15-30 Azarenka suddenly crumpled to the ground behind the baseline and appeared to fall unconscious. Medics, ballboys and Dulko immediately rushed over with towels, ice and water.
It's not the first time that Azarenka has been forced to retire during a Grand Slam. In her fourth-round match at the 2009 Australian Open, the 21-year-old took a set off of Serena Williams before retiring from dizziness and illness.This is the third consecutive day that temperatures in Flushing Meadows have hovered in the mid-90s.
US Open Tournament Referee Brian Earley said in a statement following the match: "Victoria Azarenka retired from her match with headache-like symptoms. She was taken to a nearby hospital for diagnostic testing. Out of respect to her privacy, we cannot give any more details. However, we can say that this does not seem to be primarily a heat-related illness."
Dulko will meet No. 20 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round.
2 comments:
They are saying Azarenka hit her head during practice and those were concussion symptoms, "We can say that this does not seem to be primarily a heat-related illness". I could buy it, however the first thing she grab before collapsing was her stomach and solely on that alone I'm starting a fact-less, baseless, and unsubstantiated rumor: Azarenka is pregnant. :P
This girl better learn how to play in the heat. She has lived in Arizona so I still don't understand how can she not adjust to the heat.
I didn't see the match but I saw a good portion of this incident on YouTube. At the end of the clip Dulko had a smile from ear to ear, hmmmm; although she rushed to Azarenka's side of the court to help her out when she collapse even getting her a bag of ice.
Since initial rumors, the latest statement from Azarenka was that she was diagnosed with a concussion. I hope she is careful and does what the doctors' say in recuperating. Concussions are very serious.
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