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By Giri Nathan
[vc_empty_space height="15px"]Sometimes the draw just softens up. That could be because Novak Djokovic accidentally discovered the shortest distance between his pocket and a linesperson’s windpipe. That could also be because a good chunk of top players opted to stay put in Europe instead of coming to New York to huddle inside a bubble for a month. All of these factors made this US Open a friendlier, softer one, an open invite for newcomers to sample the rarefied air late in a major. But Victoria Azarenka already knows that air, even if it’s been seven years since she last won one.