Serena Williams hopes for a positive outcome for final at Indian Wells

The details are a blur, but the nasty atmosphere that surrounded her 2001 final against Kim Clijsters at Indian Wells is burned into Serena Williams’ memory.

Public sentiment had turned against her and her sister, Venus, after Venus withdrew from their semifinal match because of an injury amid speculation their father, Richard, had orchestrated it. Richard and Venus were heckled as they arrived for the final and Serena was targeted for boos too.

“It was an awful, awful, awful experience. I only got through it through just prayer,” said Serena, who won the match, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. “I just remember saying, ‘Just help me get through this. I don’t even want to win.’ I believe I lost the first set, maybe. And then somehow I just was holding the trophy after that.”

On Sunday Williams will play in the BNP Paribas final for the first time since that ugly day, this time with Victoria Azarenka of Belarus as her opponent. After being warmly embraced while she blazed through the field, Williams can expect a much more hospitable welcome Sunday than she got in 2001. But that old memory won’t let the world’s No. 1 player assume anything.

“I can only hope that it will be really positive. That’s all I can hope for,” she said soon after she defeated Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 7-6 (1) in the semifinals. “I would love to walk out there with everyone clapping.”

Williams has a 17-3 career edge over Azarenka, who’s seeded 13th here and ranked 15th in the world. They’ve met eight times in tournament finals — including the U.S. Open in 2012 and 2013 — with Williams holding a 6-2 edge. Both of Azarenka’s victories were on hard courts, at Miami in 2009 and Cincinnati in 2013.

“Me and Vika have had some incredible finals,” Williams said, using Azarenka’s nickname.

Azarenka will move up to No. 8 in the world if she wins Sunday and to No. 11 if she loses. A two-time Australian Open champion, she won the title here in 2012 with a straight-set win over Maria Sharapova. However, she was slowed last year by foot and thigh injuries that limited her to only 14 tournaments. She won a tournament in Brisbane, Australia, in January and reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.

A powerful baseliner, Azarenka is known for her footwork and was No. 1 in the world before Williams took over on Feb. 8, 2013. Asked what she does against Williams that other competitors don’t do, Azarenka said she doesn’t become intimidated.

“I don’t know, but I see a lot of them losing before they step on the court. I’m not afraid of anybody. I want to have those challenges,” said Azarenka, who defeated Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals. “Some people maybe want to avoid that and I live for those moments.”

Etc.

The women’s final starts at 11 a.m., followed by the men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic.

Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter @helenenothelen