Azarenka goes from unseeded to Flushing Meadows final vs Osaka after amazing comeback win against Serena
Serena Williams already was struggling to keep up in a fast-paced US Open semifinal when she stopped behind the baseline after a third-set point and leaned over.
She held that pose for a bit, then clutched at her lower left leg and asked for a trainer.
While Williams took a medical timeout for a tape job for what she later said was an Achilles issue — her latest bid for a 24th Grand Slam singles title seemingly slipping away — her opponent, Victoria Azarenka, sat in a sideline seat, eyes closed, calm and composed as can be.
After a delay of about five minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium, action resumed, and while Williams raised the force of her shots and volume of her shouts, it was Azarenka who finished off a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory Thursday to return to a major championship final for the first time since 2013.
“It’s been seven years? That’s my favorite number. I guess that’s meant to be. I’m very gratgeul for this oportunity,” said Azarenka who won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013 and lost to Williams in the US Open finals each of those two years.
“On the road to the final, you have to beat the best players and today was that day.”
The loss left Serena just short of the record-tying No 24 yet again.
She was beaten in the finals of four of the preceding seven Slams, including at Flushing Meadows in 2018 and 2019.
With her 39th birthday a little more than two weeks away, the question will become: How many more chances will Williams get? She did confirm afterward she’ll head to Paris; the French Open starts Sept 27.
In Saturday’s final, Azarenka will face Naomi Osaka in a meeting between two-time major champions who have both been ranked No 1 in the past and have been by far the two best players since tennis resumed last month after a pandemic-forced hiatus.
Azarenka won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013 and lost to Williams in the US Open finals those two years.
She’s finally back in a title match at a major.
“How is it different? I mean, mentally, I’m in such a different place. I think seven years ago, after I won the Australian Open and stuff, and playing kind of consistently with good results, it was kind of I wouldn’t say expected but kind of expected for me to be in the final. I don’t think that was the case this year,” said Azarenka, a 31-year-old from Belarus who is ranked 27th.
“But it feels more fun this year, more fulfilling, more pleasant for me,” she said. “It feels nice. Nicer.”
This was Williams’ fourth consecutive three-setter in New York and although she was far better at the outset on Thursday, racing to a 4-0 lead inside of 15 minutes, Azarenka eventually did get going.
Evidence of Azarenka’s brilliance: She compiled 12 winners and merely one unforced error in the second set, then continued her baseline mastery in the third, especially with her backhand.
That carried her to her first win against Williams in 11 career Grand Slam matchups between the pair.
After going a full calendar year without a single tour-level victory, Azarenka has won 11 matches in a row. Osaka’s streak is at 10.
Two weeks ago, Azarenka and Osaka were supposed to play in the final of the Western & Southern Open — a hard-court event moved from Ohio to New York this year as part of a two-tournament “controlled environment” with the US Open amid the pandemic — but Osaka withdrew because of an injured left hamstring.
“Going to be super fun,” said Azarenka, who sat in her assigned suite in Ashe to watch some of Osaka vs Brady. “She plays incredible.”