World number three Victoria Azarenka was handed her first loss of the 2013 season at the Mutua Madrid Open. The Belarussian lost her match to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the second round. Being a runner-up at Madrid Open last year, Azarenka will lose ranking points but will still remain at number three.
There were instances in the match that Azarenka lost her temper, breaking her racquet and arguing with the chair umpire after she was given a second code violation for smashing her racquet in the third set.
Azarenka explained her loss to the media.
“I played more against myself, trying to prove to myself certain things, more than I was focusing on my opponent,” she said.
Azarenka was sidelined for more than a month due to an ankle injury which forced her to pull out of Indian Wells and Miami Open. She will be participating in next week’s Italian Open in Rome before going to Paris for the Roland Garros 2013 tournament.
“I have been making mistakes,” she said. “But that’s what comes after not playing for a long time. I still have another tournament before the French Open to compete in.”
