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Victoria Azarenka pain-free ahead of French Open

French Open: Victoria Azarenka pain-free ahead of Roland Garros, pleased with physical and mental preparation.

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A "pain-free" Victoria Azarenka insists she feels fit and ready for the French Open.

World number five Azarenka had not lost since February until a back injury forced her to withdraw from the Madrid Open this month.

The Belarusian appeared to still be feeling the effects when she fell to a shock defeat against Irina-Camelia Begu at the Internazionali d'Italia the following week.

However, Azarenka thinks the extra time has helped her prepare mentally and physically for Roland Garros.

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"I arrived pretty early to Paris, so I had a few days of training here already," she said.

"It was good for me to take some time off and regroup. I have been practising pain-free, so I'm feeling ready to start the tournament.

"I didn't play tennis [after Rome]. I took a couple of days off. I still kept doing my exercises for the back and continued with what I could do to stay active. I don't like to just sit and do nothing.

"For me it was more mental to just get away and get myself, you know, focused again and motivated again. I went home, spent time with the family. For me, it's always the best [way to] recharge."

Azarenka dropped down to 50th in the rankings in 2015, but feels she is now a more rounded player.

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"I do believe that I have improved, and I'm still improving," he said.

"I want to use this year and hopefully next year for a process to keep improving my game, make myself the best player as possible."

The 26-year-old will face Karin Knapp in the first round of the French Open.

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