In a tense and unpredictable match,
Serena Williams steeled her nerves
to defeat Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7
(6), 6-1 on Sunday to win her fifth
U.S. Open title and 17th Grand Slam
title overall.
In a match marred by swirling winds
in New York, Williams looked on her
way to a competitive but
straightforward victory after
winning the first set and building a
two-break lead at 4-1 in the second
set. Williams served for the match at
5-4 and 6-5, but Azarenka broke
her both times. Azarenka won the
tiebreaker to force a decisive third
set.
From there, though, Williams
controlled her emotions and her
game to roll through the third set.
She finished the match with 36
winners to 35 unforced errors, while
Azarenka hit 17 winners to 27
unforced errors.
In successfully defending her U.S.
Open crown, the 31-year-old
Williams won her career-best ninth
title of the year. By winning the U.S.
Open Series this summer and the
U.S. Open, Williams earned $3.6
million. That makes her the first
woman and only the fourth player to
surpass $9 million in single-season
earnings, joining Roger Federer,
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Game-by-game analsysis of
Williams’ tough title test after the
jump.
Third set
7:41 p.m. ET | Serena Williams
defeats Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7
(6), 6-1 to win the 2013 U.S Open
title.
Serena Williams rebounds from a
nervy and anxious end to the second
set to run away with the third. She
celebrates by jumping up and down
and seemingly stomping out any
demons she might have had coming
into this tournament.
Serena Williams leaps for joy on
match point. (Joe Scarnici/Getty
Images)
Final stats don’t tell the whole story
on this one, but Serena’s aggression
was once again the story, and in the
the third set in particular,
Azarenka’s double faults and
unforced errors spelled the end to
her comeback.
Serena: 9 aces, 5 double faults, 36
winners, 35 unforced.
Azarenka: 2 aces, 7 double faults, 17
winners, 27 unforced.
That was a great final — a match the
women’s tournament desperately
needed after two weeks of fairly
straightforward results. It was great
to see Azarenka once against step
up to the challenge of taking on
Williams and Serena responding
with some grit of her own.