Serena Williams Beats Victoria Azarenka to win US open
Sunday, September 9, 2012
NEW YORK -- What's a U.S. Open without a little Serena Williams drama? This time it was contained to the court.
Two
points from defeat after pulverizing the field for two weeks, Williams
capped a dominating summer and earned player-of-the-year bragging rights
by beating No. 1 Victoria Azarenka on Sunday in the U.S. Open final
6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
Fourth-ranked Williams, who won
singles and doubles titles at Wimbledon and the London Olympics, needed
her full mental reserves to claw back from a 3-5 the final-set deficit
to win her fourth championship in New York and 15th overall major.
It was the first women's final to go the distance
since 1995. At 2 hours and 18 minutes it was the longest in time
duration since 1981.
Reigning Australian Open
champ Azarenka refused to bow and played bold tennis after Williams
raced to an early lead. The 23-year-old from Belarus served for the
match at 5-4.
But Williams locked in to her
mental toughness, breaking back and winning the last four games and
bringing the 23,771 fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium to their feet.
When
Azarenka's final backhand sailed long Williams fell to her back fully
extended, dropped her racket and covered her face with her hands. She
leaped several times in the air on her way to shake hands at the net.
"Oh
my god," said Williams in her on-court speech. "I honestly can't
believe I won. I really was preparing my runner-up speech, because I
thought, 'Man, she's playing so great.' "
After
coming back from nearly a yearlong absence in June 2011 from a series
of injuries and medical scares, including two foot surgeries and a
hematoma in her stomach, the American is playing some of her best
tennis.
Williams became the first woman to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year since, well, she did it in 2002.
Pretty good highs after some pretty rough lows.
"I
don't think about the downs too much," she said. "I hope I never think
about them as my life continues. But I really think a champion is
defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.
"I
have fallen several times. Each time I just get up and I dust myself
off and I pray and I'm able to do better or I'm able to get back to the
level that I want to be on."
She won her very
first major championship at age 17 at the 1999 U.S. Open. Winning titles
13 years apart at the same Grand Slam tournament represents the longest
span of success in the professional era, which began in 1968.
Navratilova (Wimbledon, 1978 and 1990) and Chris Evert (French Open,
1974 and 1986) had the longest previous spans of 12 years.
She
turns 31 this month -- she's the first 30-year-old woman to win the
U.S. Open since Navratilova in 1987 -- but shows no sign of slowing
down.
"I cannot believe that she will lose her
motivation," said Patrick Mouratoglou, who runs a tennis academy
outside of Paris and who started working with Williams on an informal
basis after she lost in the first round of the French Open. "She really
feels she can win every tournament. This feeling keeps her motivation."
Since that loss in the French Open, Williams is 26-1, including the Wimbledon title and the Olympic gold medal.
"I
was miserable after that loss in Paris. I have never been so miserable
after a loss,"Williams said. "I pulled it together. ... Sometimes, they
say, it's good to lose."
Williams, who didn't
drop a set in New York until the final, promised to be on her best
behavior after tirade-marred exits in her last two trips to New York.
Called
for a foot fault in the third game of the second set on Sunday -- the
same infraction that sent her into a profanity-laced tirade in an ugly
2009 semifinal defeat -- Williams didn't flinch (though she did glare at
the linesman on her walk back to the changeover chair).
"Yeah,
this is the first year ... in a long time I haven't lost my cool,"
Williams said. "I think everyone thought about last year. That's never
on my mind, because I was just focused. I was just thinking, 'OK, which
foot was it?' So I would know not to do that again."
At 5-5 in the deciding set, Williams even applauded her opponent after a precisely angled backhand passing shot.
Azarenka,
who will remain No. 1 in the world despite the loss, won the Australian
Open in January during a 26-match winning streak to open the season.
"Serena
deserves the win. She showed how true of a champion she is," Azarenka
said. "I definitely gave it all today. Stepping out of this court today,
I will have no regrets."
Azarenka hadn't
dropped a three-set match all season until Sunday, going 12-0 in matches
that went the distance, including victories over defending U.S. Open
champion Sam Stosur in the quarterfinals and 2006 champion Maria
Sharapova in the semifinals.
Williams improved
to 10-1 against Azarenka. With 15 major titles, she is in sixth place
and trails Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert by three.
"I
never thought I would even come close to breaking those records," she
said. "But if I can play consistently and play some more matches at
Wimbledon, then it will be awesome. We'll see. If I could win two a year
it would be great."
Azarenka would not be surprised to see that happen.
"For me she is the greatest player of all time," Azarenka said. "She took the game to the next level."
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