Musician and rapper Redfoo set for US Open bid

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and her boyfriend Redfoo attend the men's singles final match between Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Andy Murray of Britain at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 27, 2013.??[Photo/Agencies]

INDIAN WELLS, California - Victoria Azarenka's boyfriend, American musician and rapper Redfoo, has entered the US Open national playoffs in a bid to earn a spot in the final grand slam of the year.

Redfoo, who will play under his given name of Stefan Gordy, has entered the Northern California sectional qualifying tournament in Salinas from June 18-23, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Friday.

"As a kid, it's always been a dream of mine to play professional tennis," the 37-year-old Redfoo said in a statement.

"Thanks to the US Open national playoffs for giving good players with a dream the chance to qualify for one of the biggest tournaments - the US Open. Every day I see my dream!"

Redfoo, whose father Berry Gordy founded the fabled Motown record label, played tennis as a junior and has been a frequent spectator at the grand slam events in recent years.

Over the past 10 days, he has been watching the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells where his girlfriend Azarenka, the Australian Open champion and world number two, was the top seed.

The Belarusian is unbeaten after 17 matches this season, but withdrew before her quarter-final against eighth-seeded Dane Wozniacki on Thursday with an inflamed right ankle.

Asked earlier during the tournament what it was like to have a celebrity as a romantic partner, Azarenka told reporters: "Well, it makes it more difficult to go have a coffee, that's for sure.

"And for the rest, I really don't pay attention to that so much. We just enjoy each other's company, having fun. Redfoo, I don't even call him that. I just call him Stefan."

Redfoo formed the musical duo LMFAO with his nephew, SkyBlu, in 2006 and together they have produced several worldwide hits, including hit "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It".