MELBOURNE, Australia, January 21 – Victoria Azarenka’s ear-piercing shrieking is not to everyone’s taste — but it’s gone down well with her reputed boyfriend, LMFAO musician Redfoo, who’s sampled it for a new song.
The world number one, who has been supported by the crazy-haired Redfoo at the Australian Open in Melbourne, said the song featuring her distinctive high-to-low grunt would be out soon.
“It’s my grunt. It’s not my vocals. I don’t take high key or low key there. It’s just natural,” she said, when asked if she had sung on the track.
She added: “I was a little bit shy and quiet, so you can only hear his voice there.”
Azarenka, last year’s champion in Melbourne, said she listened to music before matches to help her focus — and LMFAO was top of her playlist.
“I got the new mix, actually a new song. It didn’t come out yet. So I have a first hearing of it,” she said, when asked what she listened to before she hammered Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-1 on Monday.
“It’s really good, called ‘Sweet Baby’, something like that. I came up with the name. I don’t think it has a title yet. It’s just an amazing mix. It’s a remix of an old song.”
She added: “(Music gives you) focus, pumps you up, gets your feet a little bit moving, kind of get excited. So I kind of get in the zone, and that’s it.
“It just makes me feel good. When I feel good inside, I love to go out there and do the best job as I can.”
Azarenka’s noisy play has not been a hit with everyone. Last year, sections of the Melbourne crowd mimicked her ‘haah’ shrieking on her way to the final — against Maria Sharapova, another notorious grunter.
The “scream queen” match-up was poorly timed for the Women’s Tennis Association, which had pledged to take action against grunting following concerns it was a turn-off for fans.
