Azarenka says newfound confidence a result of conquering anxiety
channelnewsasia.comMELBOURNE : Victoria Azarenka said changing her mindset and conquering her anxiety had paved the way for her return to the semi-finals of the Australian Open after a dominant victory over third seed Jessica Pegula on Tuesday.The 2012 and 2013 champion was at her aggressive best on Rod Laver Arena to beat her American opponent 6-4 6-1 and said later that she had been dealing with a fear of failure in the last few months and the problem had started to escalate."I was at the point where I couldn't find anything I feel good about myself, not even one sentence.
I broke a few racquets after my match in Ostrava (in October). That was a tough moment for me," Azarenka told reporters."From then, I tried to take it more simple.
I started with not trying to be positive, just trying to be neutral, not to go negative. Accepting the anxiety that I have. Accepting the fear that I have.
Working through it. That was step by step."I kept trying to go a step forward, another challenge. I learned how to start to build a process that is step by step instead of jumping to conclusions in the situation...
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