Summer of Serena Capped Off With U.S. Open Win

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Flushings, N.Y. (September 9, 2012)-When it looked like the fairy tale ending for Serena Williams was coming to an end, Williams dug deep and came from behind to defeat Victoria Azarenka in a thrilling third set to capture her fourth U.S. Open title.

The end result featured two sets that were exchanged evenly with the world number one Azarenka as they went 6-2, 2-6 before 4th ranked Williams closed out the third set 7-5 enroute to her 15th Grand Slam title.

After cruising through the first set Williams became more of a spectator as Azarenka reminded her and everyone watching why she is one of the best players in the world. She easily took the second set with Williams looking vulnerable for the first time in the past two weeks. 

The third set found Williams down 5-3 and two points away from Azarenka hoisting her first U.S. Open trophy. Then Williams found that extra gear that she needed as she won the next four games to clinch the championship.

"Oh my God. I honestly can't believe I won," Williams said in her interview after the match. "I was really prepared for my runner-up speech, because she was playing so great. I'm really shocked right now."

Azarenka gave it everything she had and just came up a little short to someone who will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest in women's tennis. They played in front of a packed New York crowd that due to torrential storms last night pushed the final to this afternoon. 

"Serena really deserved to win. She showed how true of a champion she is, and I'm honored to stand with such a champion," Azarenka said after the match. "At the moment it's tough but I gave it my all, and stepping off this court I will have no regrets."

Azarenka had the much tougher route to the finals after taking out Maria Sharapova in the semifinals and Sam Stosur in the quarterfinals, both women ranked in the top ten and Stosur being the defending champion. Williams however hadn't even seen a third set before today and the highest ranked player she faced was 10th seeded Sara Errani in the semifinals. 

For Williams it capped off an incredible summer that saw her win her 5th Wimbledon title as well take gold in both the singles and doubles tournaments at the London Olympics. Not bad considering just a few months ago the status of her game was in question when she didn't make it past the first round of the French Open. Now her place in tennis history will continue to be debated, as she is just seven off of the 22 Grand Slam titles that Steffi Graf holds.

How close Williams gets to that record remains to be seen but a better question is who is really the number one women's tennis player? Although Azarenka will still hold that distinction even after this weekend, Williams is making an excellent case for it. Obviously one of the keys for her is staying healthy but she has proven that she still remains extremely motivated even as she is a few weeks shy of her 31st birthday. She will certainly have plenty to celebrate on that birthday as this summer has clearly been all about Serena.

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