Victoria Azarenka
Eighth seed Victoria Azarenka
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Thursday, 18, Jun 2009 12:03
Date of birth: 31/07/1989 (Age: 19).
Nationality: Belarussian
Height: 5ft 11in
Weight: 130lbs
Plays: Right-handed
Turned professional: 2003
Current ATP singles ranking: 8
Best Wimbledon performance: Third round - 2007, 2008
Grass court pedigree
Azarenka has not achieved a huge amount of success on grass during her relatively short career to date, although this can be attributed to a lack of tournaments as much as anything else.
After a first-round exit at Wimbledon on her debut in 2006, the young Belarussian reached the third round in the past two years - losing to seeds Nicole Vaidisova and Nadia Petrova.
She was also unfortunate at last year's SW19 warm-up tournament at Eastbourne, being forced to retire from her first-round match with an injury to her left knee.
Wimbledon seeding: 8th
Chances of SW19 success?
Azarenka has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the WTA rankings in the past few years and has begun to come of age in 2009, winning her first three career titles in Brisbane, Memphis and Key Biscayne.
The latter triumph featured a 6-3 6-1 demolition of ten-time grand slam champion Serena Williams in the final, a result which underlines the fact that she is capable of stellar performances.
She heads into Wimbledon having produced her best run at a major, reaching the quarter-finals at the recent French Open before losing out in three sets to top seed Dinara Safina.
The 19-year-old is already being tipped by many as a future world number one and multiple grand slam winner and her aggressive baseline hitting will make her a tough proposition on the faster courts at SW19.
Prediction: Quarter-finalist
Azarenka has the game to beat anyone on her day but there are concerns over whether she is yet capable to combine her undoubted talent with the required temperament to win a major.
Her mood on court can range from broody to outright tantrum - just watch what happens when things are not going her way - so it will be interesting to see how she deals with the pressure.
However, this attitude underlines the fact that she is a ferocious competitor and perfectionist who simply cannot stand losing or falling short of the sky-high standards she sets herself.
No one will want to take on Azarenka and she could easily go all the way with a favourable draw, but realistically this tournament may arrive a little too early in her development.
Expect her to make an encouraging run to the last eight, where her inexperience and lack of big-match sharpness will eventually prove to be her undoing.
Chris Bryant