(photo: ndtv sports)

Former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka had to not only play out of her skin to get the better of Czech Republic’s Lucie Hradecka, but also keep the cameraman away as he was trying to inch closer towards her during the first-round battle in Rome.

The confrontation came about when the Belarusian star consolidated a hard-fought game on her serve to lead 4-3 in the opening set. Both the players moved on to relax and recuperate their breath in the interval.

The cameraman, then, apparently drew closer towards Azarenka. Bothered by this, she asserted: “can you back off a little bit, please?”

Subsequently, the 25-year-old went on to win the set, match in a nervy three-set affair that lasted 2 hours and 32 minutes.

Here’s the full video of the incident: