Don’t treat us as villains, Azarenka begs fans

Australian Open semi-finalist Victoria Azarenka says she feels sympathy for Novak Djokovic and pleaded for players not to be treated as “villains”.

Belarus’ Azarenka, 33, is in her first Melbourne semi-final since 2013 – when the legitimacy of her medical time-out against Sloane Stephens was questioned.

Serbia’s Djokovic has been accused of dramatising the extent of a hamstring injury during the Australian Open.

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“We are regular human beings that go through many, many things,” she said.

“There is sometimes, I don’t know, an incredible desire for a villain and a hero story that has to be written.

“But we’re not villains and we’re not heroes.”