Former world number one Victoria Azarenka can't support her native Belarus at the FIFA World Cup so she follows Argentina because Lionel Messi is 'cute'
Lionel Messi and Victoria Azarenka (Pic/Getty Images)
London: Former world number one Victoria Azarenka can't support her native Belarus at the World Cup so she follows Argentina because Lionel Messi is "cute".
Lionel Messi and Victoria Azarenka (Pic/Getty Images)
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"I've been a supporter of Argentina for the last three World Cups," said former double Australian Open winner Azarenka.
"They even have pictures of me wearing an Argentina shirt from maybe 2000. I love Messi. I think he's one of the greatest players of all time. He's so little, so cute. It's just fun."
What goes through Azarenka's mind when watching the Barcelona forward? "You don't want to know!," the world number eight said.
Azarenka's love for art...
Meanwhile, Azarenka revealed her recent injury spell on the sidelines had led to a love of art accidentally nurtured by wiping paint on her shirt.
The 24-year-old former world number one and double Australian Open champion missed three months of the season nursing a left foot injury.
But she wasn't idle as she developed a liking for art with her imagination fired further by discussing the subject with Latvian player Ernests Gulbis.
"I'll tell you a funny story. I don't know what in the hell I was painting. I was like, Okay, I feel very emotional right now. I am just going to put on all the colours. I started doing it with my hands. I didn't want to wash my hands, so I just did like that on my shirt," she explained.
"Then I forget. It dried out. I put the shirt on. I walked outside because I was lazy. People were like, Wow, that's such an amazing shirt, where did you get it? "I was like, Really? They were like, It's so cool."
The Belarusian has now used her accidental art affair as a marketing tool.
"I actually had a meeting with Nike. I said, I can make many more like that if you want to. Come to my house, we'll just do that and stuff.
"Then I had some friends over. I had a big canvas. I wanted to see what people want to bring to the painting, what they think about it. I gave each of my friends their space.
"I felt like it's just emotions and the thoughts of people you care about in one thing and I can keep it in my house."