Victoria Azarenka collapses during second-round match at the U.S. Open
Tennis players participating in the 2010 U.S. Open have been feeling the heat throughout the tournament, but none as much as Victoria Azarenka.
Azarenka collapsed from the extreme heat around half an hour into her second-round singles match against Argentinian Gisela Dulko. She collapsed on the baseline while serving for the fourth time in the match. Medical personnel were soon called to the court, and they frantically yelled to the sidelines for water.
The 21-year-old Belarusian had not been moving well when she fell, and did not appear to have twisted or strained her legs. However, she did suffer a minor arm injury in the fall.
Azarenka was later taken off the court in a wheelchair while a trainer checked her neck for a pulse. She was then rushed to a nearby hospital for further treatment, where she reportedly stated that her vision had been blurry.
Playing under scorching 32-degree (90 Fahrenheit) skies on the Grandstand court, the 10th-seeded Azarenka was behind by 1-5 15-30 in the first set, and had been struggling greatly since the third game of the match. After every point, she took a brief time out to recharge, but it was to no avail.
Opponent Gisela Dulko was frightened by Azarenka’s sudden collapse on the court, and tried her best to offer some assistance to Azarenka.
“I was scared,” the 24-year-old Dulko said. “She went to the floor - I was worried for her. I went to see her, brought her some ice, and did whatever I could to help.”
Dulko added that after an occurrence like this one, “you don't think about tennis, you are just worried about your opponent.”
She also admitted that she also found it somewhat difficult to play under the sweltering heat.
“I'm used to this kind of weather, but on the first day when I went to practice, I was feeling dizzy as well,” said Dulko, who is currently ranked No. 41 overall in women’s singles.
“It's hard to play in these conditions and today I am much better because I have been here a few days, but it's tough.”
At this point, it is unclear when Azarenka will return to action. She will be sidelined indefinitely with her arm injury, and will be recovering in the hospital until further notice.
Dulko, in the meantime, will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the No. 20 seed, in the third round.
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