Azarenka: Never mind silver, I wanted gold
For Victoria Azarenka, competing at the London 2012 Olympic Tennis Event was all about business. Belarus had never tasted success in Olympic Tennis and, as top seed in both the singles and mixed doubles events, Azarenka had her eye very much on the prize from the outset.
"I was really in the bubble," said Azarenka of her approach throughout London 2012. "I really went there with the mind set to win medals. It wasn't so much for me about the experience of the Olympics, there was an ultimate goal there."
Just under four years ago, Azarenka defeated Russia's Maria Kirilenko on the turf of the All England Club to win an Olympic bronze medal and become the first Belarusian athlete to take home a medal in Olympic tennis.
A day later she stood alongside partner Max Mirnyi in front of a boisterous British crowd, one point away from defeating singles gold medallist Andy Murray and his partner Laura Robson and on the cusp of trumping her landmark singles bronze with mixed doubles gold.
Moments later, after a snapshot Azarenka volley at the net, a bear hug from Mirnyi and an emotional climb up to the team box following a 2-6 6-3 10-8 victory, the Belarusians were Olympic champions. Those memories, and the pressures of going for gold for her country, still burn strong for Azarenka.
"There were a lot of mixed emotions because that week was so heavy in terms of pressure," she said. "And not just from myself! First of all because I had a partner [Mirnyi], who was very stressed.
"We had a lot of pressure from the country and the federation, not in a bad way but everyone wanted us to do so well. When we got to the final we were already guaranteed a medal but I didn't want silver, I wanted gold."
It was a second Olympic experience for Azarenka, having competed at Beijing 2008, but having won the first of her two Australian Open titles earlier in the year and secured the No. 1 ranking for the first time, Azarenka admits she felt she had much to prove in London.
"There were some expectations [from other people] but I really wanted to prove that yes, I'm able to [rise to them], because we never had any medals ever in the history [of Belarusian tennis]. That type of pressure was there and I really wanted to deliver," she said.
"For our country I think the gold medal was the most meaningful of my achievements," added Azarenka. "It has that much pride for my country."
This story features quotes taken from the ITF's new Olympic Book, set to be published in Summer 2016. This coffee-table publication features 118 Olympic and Paralympic tennis medallists reflecting on what their medal means to them, told through exclusive interviews and specially-commissioned photography.