Serena Set for Sunday U.S. Open Finals Rematch With Azarenka
On her seventh match point, Serena Williams finally converted and advanced to the 2013 U.S. Open women’s final and a return matchup with number two-seeded Victoria Azarenka. Closing out match point was about the only thing Serena had trouble with late Friday afternoon, a 107-mile per hour service winner on her seventh match point for a straight-set 6-0, 6-3 win over the fifth-seeded Li Na of China. On Sunday afternoon, Serena goes for her fifth U.S. Open championship, and 17th Grand Slam title overall.
Serena continued her complete domination throughout the tournament with her performance today. In six matches, she has lost a total of only 16 games. With a straight-set win over Azarenka on Sunday, Serena would become the first woman to win the U.S. Open without dropping a set since Serena herself did it twice, in 2002 and again in 2008.
The key to Serena’s win may have been her return of serve. Li entered the day with a tournament-best 29 aces, but she had none on Friday. Serena also just simply overpowered Li, hitting 19 winners to Li’s eight.
"I was feeling that being able to make it to the semis was pretty good," said Li. "It doesn’t matter how you win or lose the match, but how you can face what to do for the next step."
With the finals looming just a day away, Serena was asked to look ahead to her next opponent in a rematch from the 2012 U.S. Open, "Well, we always have really good matches. I look forward to it. It’s great to get to another final. She’s a great player and she lifts her game when it really counts.”
