In a battle of former world no.1 Victoria Azarenka topples the 2019 runner-up Serena Williams 1-6 6-3 6-3 in the semifinal in New York on Thursday. Azarenka will engage against Naomi Osaka in the final.
Live score progression and stats
Williams got off on the right foot in the set after breaking Azarenka in the 1st game (1-0) before consolidating her break and lead 4-0. Williams improved her lead after breaking Victoria in the 3rd (3-0) and in the 7th (6-1) game before winning the set.
Victoria lost the 7th game (6-1) when she was comfortably leading 40-0. A defining moment of this set was when Serena won 4 consecutive games in the 1st set to change the scoreline from 0-0 to 4-0.
Williams was unerring in converting all her break points in the 1st (0-0 15-40), the 2nd (2-0 30-40) and the 7th game (5-1 40-A and 40-A). On the other side, the American didn’t concede a single break point during this set.
They contested 44 points. The American won 12 more points than Azarenka (28-16). Serena was extremely solid on serve to drop just 4 points (11-4). Regarding the other side of the net, Victoria conceded 17 points on serve (12-17).
Victoria won the set after she broke Serena in the 5th (3-2) and in the 9th (6-3) game.
The Belarussian converted 66% of her break points (2/3). She had 3 break points opportunities in the 5th (2-2 15-40), the 7th (4-2 40-A) and the 9th game (5-3 15-40). On the other side, the American wasn’t able to convert 1 break point in the 2nd game (1-0 30-40).
They played 52 points. The Belarussian won 12 points more than Williams (32-20). The Belarussian surrendered 6 points on serve (18-6). on the other side of the court, Serena conceded 14 points on serve (14-14).
Azarenka conquered a leading position at the beginning of the set after breaking Williams in the 2nd game (2-0) before consolidating her break and lead 3-0. That break was the key and it was sufficient for Azarenka to win the set (6-3) as there were no other breaks.
Williams capitulated the 2nd game (2-0) when she was comfortably leading 40-0.
Victoria converted 50% of her break points (1/2). She had 2 break points opportunities in the 2nd game (1-0 40-A and 40-A). On the other side, Azarenka didn’t concede a single break point during this set.
They played 55 points. Azarenka won 5 more points than Williams (30-25). Victoria lost 9 points on serve (20-9). on the other side of the court, the American conceded 10 points on serve (16-10).
Victoria will add to her prize money $ 700,000 after managing to win this match. She has won already $ 1,500,000 after this win. If she wins the next match, Azarenka will add $ -1,500,000 to her earnings to get in total $ 0 in total.
Stats: aces, double faults and breaks
At the end of the match, Victoria scored 81 points vs. Williams’s 78.
The Belarussian won this match even if she had a tough time converting her break points since she converted only 43% (3/7) of the procured opportunities. On the other side, Serena was sharp when converting 60% of the break points that she conquered points (3/5). Yet, that was not enough to win the contest.
After this contest, the head to head between Azarenka and Williams is 5-18 for Serena.
Highlights Victoria Azarenka vs. Serena Williams U.S. Open – New York
Azarenka’s Interview
Draw and next match H2H: Victoria Azarenka vs. Naomi Osaka – stats
Azarenka will compete against Osaka in the final.
This will be the 4th time that Victoria Azarenka and Naomi Osaka face off. The head to head is 2-1 for Osaka (see full H2H stats), but Azarenka has a winning record of 1-0 on hard.
The last time that they played, Osaka won 4-6 7-5 6-3 in the 2nd round in Paris back in 2019.
Tennis Scores at the
- Victoria AzarenkaAzarenka – Serena WilliamsWilliams (1-6 6-3 6-3) – Stats and score progression
- Naomi OsakaOsaka – Jennifer BradyBrady (7-61 3-6 6-3) – Stats and score progression
Upcoming matches
- Naomi OsakaOsaka – Victoria AzarenkaAzarenka (2-1) – H2H details and stats