After the tears and the explanations

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

After the tears and the explanations, Victoria Azarenka was expecting to be the finalist with the biggest obstacles to surmount Saturday.

I don’t understand the sentence. Could someone please explain it to me?

2

I believe “tears and explanations” refers to a controversy which Azarenka was involved in. The controversy related to her getting medical treatment in the middle of a match. (“tears” = crying.)

“finalist with the biggest obstacles to surmount” means that she would have more problems to overcome than her opponent.

3

Thanks Mr. Dozy, your explanation works.

What about my next question?
She has been far from her [color=red]relentless best at this Australian Open for reasons that remain unclear, and she expected to be greeted with hostility after an [color=red]emotional two days in which she was widely criticized for seeking medical attention at a pivotal phase of her semifinal victory over the American teenager Sloane Stephens.

  1. What do “relentless best” and “emotional two days” mean?

  2. Does the bold part mean “Now relentless best is difficult for her due to some reasons”?

  3. What is “pivotal phase”?

4

“her relentless best” means her best performances in the past, pointing out that those performances have been “relentless” (i.e. giving her opponents no respite).

“emotional two days” refers to two days during which she was affected by strong emotional feelings (about the medical treatment incident).

“far from her relentless best” means that her performance at this tournament has been much inferior to her “relentless best”. This is for “reasons that remain unclear” (i.e. no one is sure why).

5

By whom was she supposed to be greeted with hostility?

6

By whom was she supposed to be greeted with hostility?

7

By the spectators.

8

Li, the 30-year-old Chinese star who was also a finalist here in 2011, twisted her ankle twice and even said she blacked out for a moment after the back of her head slammed onto the court early in the third set after her second tumble.

“Maybe if I’m not falling down, it’s another story,” Li said of her defeat. “You never know. But the truth: I was falling down, so nothing can change.”

The victory allowed Azarenka, a globe-trotting 23-year-old from Belarus, to retain the No. 1 ranking ahead of Serena Williams, and it was testimony to Azarenka’s powers of resilience and concentration considering all the disruptions and negative energy coming her way on and off the court last week.

What does the bold part mean?

9

More correctly: “Maybe if I hadn’t fallen down it would have been another story”. (English is not Li Na’s first language of course.)

“it would have been another story” = things would have turned out differently

10

I guessed the same meaning as you suggest. But due to my poor English I failed to be certain.

  1. Could you please explain the roll of the bold part in the following context?

With Stephens about to serve to stay in the match at 4-5 in the second set, Azarenka was treated during a changeover after complaining of breathing problems. She was eventually taken off the court for a medical timeout that lasted nearly 10 minutes. Stephens’s coach, David Nainkin, later suggested that Azarenka had “bent” the rules to shift the momentum.

The victory allowed Azarenka, a globe-trotting 23-year-old from Belarus, to retain the No. 1 ranking ahead of Serena Williams, and it was testimony to Azarenka’s powers of resilience and concentration considering all the disruptions and negative energy coming her way on and off the court last week

  1. What does the bold part suggest?
11

  1. In the second set, Stephens had won 4 games and Azarenka had won 5 games. Stephens was about to serve in the next game. “to stay in the match” means that if she lost that game then she would lose the match.

  2. Azarenka is 23 years old. She comes from Belarus. She has travelled extensively around the world.