US Open: Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka - we know each other, we understand each other
Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka will meet for the 23rd time in the semifinals of the US Open 2020. The two veterans also maintain a good relationship off the pitch.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Sep 10, 2020, 07:00 pm
It wasn't that long ago that Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams decided to swap pants. The two women, who face each other in the semifinals of the US Open 2020 from Thursday to Friday, have a very good relationship, which is not a matter of course on the WTA tour, which is not free from vanity. Especially since Serena prefers to show herself with her older sister Venus, the only other short line was to Caroline Wozniacki.
The latter, however, withdrew from active professional sport after the Australian Open 2020, and Venus has long packed her bags at the ongoing US Open Tennis Championships. What remained are the two relative youngsters Jennifer Brady and Naomi Osaka. And the two veterans Serena and Vika. Their quarter-final day couldn't have been more different: While Serena had to drag through three sets against Tsvetana Pironkova, Azarenka only needed 73 minutes in the 6: 1 and 6: 0 against Elise Mertens.
Serena beats Azarenka twice in the final
Azarenka is the only unseeded player in this semifinals, her first in a major since 2013. The advance of the former world number one into the semifinals does not come as a complete surprise, of course. After all, Azarenka won the WTA Premier- Competition. With the small aside that Naomi Osaka couldn't make it to the final.
“I found answers to everything she tried today. And I'm very happy about that today, ”said Azarenka after her big win. She has played against Serena twice in Flushing Meadows, losing the finals in 2012 and 2013. "I love to play against Serena," said Azarenka in anticipation of the semi-finals. She played some of her best matches against the 23-time Grand Slam winner. “It was a lot of great fights. She is one of the players who push me to my limits and make me better. "
The balance clearly speaks for Serena Williams, who won 18 of 22 games against Azarenka. As was the case in 2015 in Roland Garros, when Victoria Azarenka was so impressed by her opponent's trousers that she simply asked if she could also have one of these items. Since the two veterans have the same supplier, this was of course not a problem.