Ashleigh Barty will be overjoyed when doubles partner and two-time major winner Victoria Azarenka returns to the peak of her powers but hopes it won’t be this weekend when Australia and Belarus clash for a place in the Fed Cup final.
Barty and Azarenka teamed up this season, making the doubles semifinals at the prestigious Miami Open just days before the Australian clinched the singles title, a breakthrough which propelled the 23-year-old into the world’s top 10.
Now Barty leads Australia’s hopes of reaching a first Fed Cup final since 1993 when it faces Azarenka’s Belarus in Brisbane on Saturday and Sunday.
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“I think the beauty of Vika and I is that we instantly gelled together,” said Barty of 29-year-old Azarenka who is no stranger to success Down Under having won the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open titles.
“She’s obviously a player who loves the pressure situation. The tighter it gets, the better she gets. I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s back to her very best once again,” added Barty, who boasts a Fed Cup record of 14 wins and just two losses.
However, Azarenka, now ranked at a modest 61, may be reserved for doubles duty only in the semifinal with No. 10 Aryna Sabalenka and Aliaksandra Sasnovich, ranked 35, likely to take the singles berths for 2017 runner-up Belarus.
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In the weekend’s other semifinal, Simona Halep eyes taking another step closer to adding a maiden Fed Cup winner’s medal to her 2018 French Open crown when Romania faces France in Rouen.
Semifinals:At Rouen: France v Romania; At Brisbane: Australia v Belarus.