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Victoria Azarenka accidentally hit a spectator on a different court on the head during her third-round victory at Wimbledon on Friday (July 7).
The former World No. 1 has been showcasing a superb display of tennis as she advanced to the fourth round of the Grand Slam. Having already beaten Yue Yuan and Nadia Podoroska in the first two rounds, Azarenka set up a clash with World No. 10 Russia's Daria Kasatkina in the third round of the tournament. Up against the Russian, the Belarusian bested her 6-2, 6-4.
During her match against Kasatkina, Victoria Azarenka approached the net and hit a forehand smash, which went over the fence to a different court and landed on the head of a standing spectator. The fan looked perplexed as he looked back, trying to find what hit him.
You can watch a video of the incident below:
The Belarusian later shared Wimbledon's video of the same and apologized to the fan for hitting him unintentionally.
"Oops...sorry about that mate," she wrote on Instagram.
It took Azarenka a little more than an hour to down the Russian, and she subsequently extended her head-to-head against Kasatkina to 4-0. With her third-round win, the two-time Grand Slam winner reached the fourth round of the tournament for the first time since 2017.
During her last fourth-round match at the Wimbledon Championships, the former World No. 1 lost to two-time Grand Slam winner and former World No. 1 Simona Halep, 7-6, 6-2.
Wimbledon 2023: Victoria Azarenka will lock horns with Elina Svitolina in the fourth round of Wimbledon
Victoria Azarenka will take on Ukraine's Elina Svitolina for a place in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. The Ukrainian beat the likes of Venus Williams, Elise Mertens, and Sofia Kenin in the previous rounds to set up a clash with Azarenka.
The duo have faced each other five times on the tour and the Belarusian is unbeaten from their previous meetings. They met for the last time in the third round of the 2022 Australian Open. Azarenka bageled Svitolina as she won the match 6-0, 6-2.
When she was asked for her thoughts on facing Svitolina during a press conference at Wimbledon, Victoria Azarenka joked that she was going to be a bit careful because Svitolina might have learned some new tricks.
"So I know she's a very good mover. She has a great return. I have to watch a little bit of her matches. Maybe she learned some new tricks since coming back," she said.
The Belarusian also added that she was happy to see Svitolina making her return very quickly after embracing motherhood.
"I'm very happy for her that, you know, she had this incredible experience of going through this incredible experience of having a family and the ability to come back actually very quickly on tour," she added.
