TWO huge results were the outcome of of the women’s semi-finals day at the 2020 US Open, with two three-setters playing out. While one match went as expected, seeing Naomi Osaka head into the final after defeating American Jennifer Brady, the huge news coming out of the day was Victoria Azarenka coming out of a 1-6 first set to run away with victory against Serena Williams – who will now rue her missed opportunity at drawing even for Grand Slam victories with Margaret Court.

While Osaka had a hugely tough match, the Williams-Azarenka matchup has to take centre stage given the huge repercussions of its result, a massive one-hour and 55-minute battle 1-6 6-3 6-3 the way of former world number one, Azarenka. Williams was huge in the first set and did not look like losing for the first half of the match, which saw Azarenka struggle to put points on the board until the fifth game of the first set and not manage to collect another until midway through the second set. But from then on, all bets were off as the unseeded Belarusian dominated the rest of the contest. Williams had looked confident and comfortable early but soon was on the back foot and despite biting back some control for a more consistent third set, Azarenka had all the momentum in her favour and the odds to beat – coming into this match with just four prior victories against Williams, and two of those in back-to-back US Open finals. 

What Azarenka did so well was she limited Williams’ ability to convert off her first serve with the ease that she managed in the quarter finals, seeing the grand slam champion win six aces along with three double faults, and not allowing Williams to profit off her huge serve. That being said, Williams still managed to hit 35 winners to Azarenka’s 24, but made a heap more unforced errors (28-17) and was unable to capitalise off her second serve with just 10 of her 27 attempts converted (37 per cent). Azarenka had no issue traversing the court in her 11th straight win, hitting 20 of her winners in the second and third sets, and in a fitting finish to the huge battle, Azarenka closed out victory with her second ace of the match.

“Seven is my favourite number, so I guess it’s meant to be,” Azarenka said post-match. “I’m very grateful for this opportunity, to be able to play such a champion in a semi-final. “The road to the final requires you to beat the best players, and today was definitely that day.”

For Osaka, winning the tight first set tiebreaker against Brady – who had not dropped a set all tournament – was the catalyst in the opening match of the day, and despite dropping the second set Osaka was more than capable of stealing away the American’s momentum. On court for over two hours, the 7-6 3-6 6-3 victory the way of Osaka saw the two players combine for 19 aces and just three double faults between them, although Osaka’s relative cleanliness compared to Brady – and her winning rate off her first serve, a huge 84 per cent – was what really aided in her victory with 17 unforced errors to Brady’s 25. Both players hit 35 winners, while Osaka was that bit more consistent on her return game with a 35 per cent winning rate on receiving points compared to Brady’s 27 per cent. 

“Sometimes I think I have no choice but to play as hard as I can, because my opponent isn’t giving me any looks,” Osaka said in her post-match press conference. “For me, normally if I focus that much, then the match potentially could be over in two. But I felt like it just kept going on. “Honestly, it was a bit fun because that quality of an opponent… at the final stages of a tournament. Yeah, it was fun.”

Azarenka will take on Osaka in a battle of experience versus talented youth at her first Grand Slam final in seven years, while Osaka returns to the scene of her first Grand Slam victory. The duo were meant to have played in the Western and Southern Open Final just over a week ago before Osaka was forced to withdraw with a hamstring issue, making this match an intriguing one given the stakes this time around.

“I’m so excited to play her (Osaka) because we were supposed to play last week. “It’s going to be super fun. “She plays incredibly,” Azarenka said. “I watched her semifinal a little today, and they had some incredible rallies. “She’s super powerful, so I’ll have to stay strong and have fun. Playing a final is a blessing and a great opportunity, so I’ll take all the fun out of it.”

“I would say I feel like my mindset is much different this time around,” Osaka said. “I feel like I’ve learned so much through the ups and downs, not even counting the finals, but just regular tour tournaments. “Mentally I feel stronger. I feel fitter now. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens.”