Italy’s No. 3, Camila Giorgi, was recently defeated by the two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in their first-round clash at the AO. Giorgi made a comeback this year after a long gap from competitive tennis. But the trip to Australia didn’t turn out to be too fruitful for the Italian.
However, she showcased her resilience in a hard-fought, two-and-a-half-hour-long match against Azarenka. The Belarusian former world No. 1 defeated her 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 at Margaret Court Arena Tuesday. Recently, the 32-year-old Giorgi reflected on the state of her anxiety even with unexpected results.
The Italian tennis player Camila Giorgi is grateful to tennis for giving her so much in life
Camila Giorgi is the pride of Italian women’s tennis. Known for her aggressive style of play. Giorgi made her professional debut in 2006. She has won four titles in her career so far and has appeared in the third round of the Australian Open five times. But this time, the journey was cut short much earlier. However, she’s satisfied with her performance and feels she has much more to give her fans.
She has been through several difficulties in her career. What keeps her motivated even at this age? Giorgi now plays games without anxiety; she’s calm in her defeat and victory. She added, “Tennis has given me so much, and there is always a lot of passion, even if I now experience it differently. I know my potential, and I know what I’ve done. But after a certain age, there is no more anxiety, and you live it in a more peaceful way.”
She had once said, “I love my life. Tennis is just my work.” This was her fifth meeting with Victoria Azarenka. However, the Belarusian leads the head-to-head with a 3-2 margin. But both have been involved in similar yet bizarre moments on the tennis court.
Revisiting the controversial moments which brought Camila Giorgi and Victoria Azarenka together
In the 2022 French Open, Camila Giorgi was asked to change her shirt just a few moments before her clash against Aryna Sabalenka. The officials discovered that her shirt, which had a DeLonghi logo, was against the tournament rules. Although she could later continue with that outfit for that match, she didn’t wear it for the rest of the tournament.
A similar instance happened with Victoria Azarenka during the Australian Open in 2023. The Belarusian wore a PSG football shirt ahead of her SF clash. But the logo on the front was reportedly too big, and it violated the rules. A PSG playing shirt generally features a large Qatar Airways logo on the front side, which is not an official sponsor for the AO. However, according to the 2-time AO champion, her shirt had no sponsor logo. This stirred a significant controversy surrounding these two tennis icons in the past.
