Match of the Day
Match of the Day presented by Emirates Airline
United States of America
BelarusIn of the most competitive US Open women’s singles finals in the Open era and the longest since 1980, No. 1 seed and defending champion Serena Williams prevailed, pulling three a nearly three-hour encounter with No. 2 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 7-5, 6-7, 6-1.
"I definitely felt the love out there today," said Williams. "Victoria played so well. Vika is such a great opponent and fighter, and that's why she's won multiple Grand Slams. That's why it was never over until match point."
Williams had a dominant 12-3 head-to-head record going into the US Open women’s single final against Azarenka, but the Belarusian powerhouse had been righting the ship in 2013. Azarenka had won two out of three matches against Williams this year, both of which came on hard courts and in three sets.
But while Azarenka’s close victories this year clearly showed that she was prepared to handle a long battle today, nobody in the women’s game can match the world No. 1 when fighting through tough moments in big matches. Competing in her 21st Grand Slam singles final today, Williams had a 6-0 record in three sets matches in Grand Slam finals and 14-0 record in Grand Slam finals where she won the first set.
Handling the windy conditions better than Williams in the early stages of the match, it seemed that Azarenka was on a good track. She came within two points of taking the opening set on numerous occasions, but Williams fought back. The 10-minute tenth game of the first set featured some of the best rallies of the match, proving to be the turning point in the contest. Once Williams held serve with an ace to level things at 5-5, she began to compose herself and find the range on her powerful ground strokes to close out the set.
However, Azarenka continued to scramble and showed impressive defensive skills throughout the nervy second set, fighting back from a 1-4 deficit and two opportunities that Williams had to serve out the match at 5-4 and 6-5. The Belarusian had two set points in the tiebreaker that the world No. 1 managed to stave off and level things at 6-6, but she sent one final ground stroke long on Azarenka’s third set point to level it at one set apiece.
Williams summoned all of her mental fortitude. She bounced back brilliantly, dominanting Azarenka in the final set and celebrating jubilantly after converting on her second match point.
With this win, Williams takes her Grand Slam singles tally up to 17 titles, putting her at sixth on the all-time list and fourth in the Open era behind Germany's Stefanie Graf with 22, and fellow Americans Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova at 18. Also, having won the Emirates Airline US Open Series this summer, she also earned a $1 million bonus, making her $3.6 million winner’s check the largest payout in US Open history.
Despite the loss, there are positives from Azarenka to take from this tournament. She reached the US Open women’s singles final for the second consecutive year and once again established herself as the only player on the women’s tour who can consistently challenge Williams.
"I gave it my all again," said Azarenka. "We showed our hearts and we showed everything we've got."
