Turning the Momentum

"Victoria Azarenka recieved
medical treatment during a
key moment in the Australian
Open semifinals."

       Despite the Australian Open women's final coming to a close early yesterday morning at 2:30am, Victoria Azarenka's medical timeout is still being questioned by many. She did end up winning the Grand Slam, but faced obstacles along the way. While playing American 19-year-old Sloane Stephens, who had just defeated Serena Williams in the Quarters, Azarenka was up one set and 5-1 in the second. Stephens won the next two games bringing the score to 5-3. Clearly, Azarenka was sweating!  Azarenka's serve was again broken (lost the game she was serving) after losing 5 match points. Score: 5-4. Now the nerves really kick in. The thoughts are "I could have just won"... 5 times! She called a medical timeout, supposedly for a rib injury, that proceeded into a 10-minute off-court treatment. This is where the momentum changed. Azarenka had time to catch her breath and get her head together while Stephens tried to keep her head in the game. Azarenka came back from her break to win the next game making the final score 6-1, 6-4.
       During post-match interviews, Azarenka admitted that she "almost did the choke of the year" and "felt a little bit overwhelmed." She commented, "I realized I'm one step away from the final, and nerves got into me, for sure." Could this be ruled as cheating?-- Not actually being physically injured but calling a medical timeout. Sloane Stephens commented that calling medical timeouts are "trendy." And she is right. Players have always twisted the rules to go for the win. After all, who wants to lose? According to Michael F. Bergeron, executive director of the National Youth Sports Health and Safety Institute, the trend of emphasis on "winning over sportsmanship and developing character" is rising even among youth sports. It is hard to capture the win without being mentally tough. The mental game can be the hardest aspect of any sport to conquer. You know you have the strokes and the serve, but it can all shut down if you are not mentally strong. But is calling a medical timeout the way to do it?
      Watching this match on TV reminded me of an almost exact parallel experience I had during a tennis match. I was down a set, 3-3 in games, my serve, 40-30. I had just come back from being down 0-3. The ump first gives my opponent a warning for taking too much time between points, then she asks for a medical timeout. For three minutes, I sit on the bench next to her while her dad massages her back. Nowadays, I wouldn't just sit there, but I would stay warm and move around. Then, I didn't really know what to do. I proceed back to the baseline, only to lose the next three points, and completely shift the momentum.