Vika chats FaceTime with Leo, Adelaide and AO expectations

There's nothing that a pack of Keebler Fudge Stripes cookies can't help with, right? For Victoria Azarenka, that might just be the case.

The two-time Australian Open champion is among 72 competitors who are at the halfway point of “hard quarantine”, self-isolation in hotel rooms resulting from traveling on flights that registered positive COVID-19 tests. Azarenka has made herself at home through workouts, a candle she packed for meditation, and those Keebler cookies that have become an obsession.

Azarenka hasn't had problems keeping busy either. She announced the upcoming debut of her podcast series, Think About It, and won the public over with a heartfelt note urging her frustrated peers to consider the bigger picture.

And of course, keeping son Leo in check from afar has remained a top priority. Speaking with Blair Henley, the former world No. 1 touched on how her motherly influence hasn’t lost a beat despite the great distance.

“He listens to me pretty well. He’s requesting a lot of stories for me to tell him, which has always been the case at home,” she said. “But I have to be a bit more convincing and innovative with stories to keep his focus and attention a bit longer, because FaceTime and kids, they are not that great with it. We do play and I really try my best to get him engaged.

“He’s good, we’re used to having FaceTime with our situation, with him and his dad as well.”

Henley also inquired about Azarenka’s opinion on a small group of top-ranked players quarantining in Adelaide with perceived advantages. The 31-year-old was quick to play down any concern over the arrangement, taking the situation as it is.

“I have my trust and belief of when people are telling me for what reasons that has been done. I don’t try to have a conspiracy theory or investigate if that’s true or not,” Azarenka explained. “I think the difficult part sometimes for people to accept is it’s not necessarily what you don’t have or don’t get, it’s the reality that someone else has it and you don’t. Thankfully I don’t struggle with that personally.”

Azarenka asserts that there’s no dip in her excitement for the first major of the year. The main objective once she completes the quarantine period? Assessing her body on a day-to-day basis as she manages the window of time left to prepare.

“Expectation is the mother of all disappointment,” she signed off with. “It’s very accurate to right now.”