US Open 2013: Ladies' final preview- Serena Williams vs Victoria Azarenka

Serena Williams

It’s the final shot at etching one’s name in the realm of tennis immortality as the world’s two best players, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka look at hoisting the prestigious US Open trophy. This is the final that every tennis aficionado was looking forward to with utmost eagerness as last year’s summit clash showed what a supremely competitive match the American and the Belarusian can orchestrate on these courts.

Will the encore be as electrifying? We preview the Ladies Championship match here.

Serena Williams (1) v Victoria Azarenka (2) (Head-to-head: Serena leads 12-3)

In an ESPN special video made on Serena Williams, she introduces herself as: ‘’I am just Serena, I am an average individual and I just love playing tennis. I am really good at it and love being out there. I love walking out in the New York crowd and I love winning.’’

That she loves ‘winning’ is what rings the alarm bells for her opponents. At 31 years of age, she is still bubbling with motivation, hunger and confidence and is brandishing her racquet like a sword cutting through her rivals’ grit and vim.

Aided by coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena has got a new lease of life, and looks far calmer and determined than she ever was. She is moving effortlessly like a teenager and serving and returning with precise dexterity. All this culminated into a second triumph for her in Paris – a place which looked merciless to her for the last 11 years.

A holder of eight titles this season, she sizzled through the draw at Flushing Meadows inflicting as many as five bagels on her hapless opponents and losing just 18 games in six matches.

And so she has given herself a golden opportunity to conquer her fifth title at a place where she won her first Grand Slam as a 17-year-old 14 years ago.

Serena must also be having something else in her mind – she has never ever defended her title successfully in New York and this definitely is a great chance to turn that record around.

Victoria Azarenka

But has Serena been absolutely flawless throughout the season? For all her wins, surprisingly she managed to annex only one major so far. Against an eye-popping 66 victories she did suffer 4 losses and interestingly, two of those defeats came at the hands of the opponent she will face in Sunday’s final, Victoria Azarenka.

It was a mouth-watering final last year at this very venue between these two warriors that foretold that Azarenka was more than just a one-Slam wonder. She was two points away from pulling off the biggest upset in front of a boisterous American crowd when Serena steadied her ship and pulled out the win.

Azarenka corroborates: ‘’Mentally I felt like it was a great turning point for me on some level for my career, just really good experience. Now I feel like I’m a better, more complete player.’’

The 24-year-old translated that self-belief into a second Australian Open crown and has secured the best hardcourt record in WTA this season which stands at a whopping 31-1. Most importantly, her resume shows two ‘wins’ in two hardcourt finals against a Serena who has been imperious for most of the year. What was more impressive was the way she snatched a win over the World No. 1 in the last US Open warm-up event at Cincinnati.

But has Azarenka herself been up to the task? The Belarusian started in a convincing fashion, bludgeoning her opponents with her ruthless power and her return game looked spotless. But as the tournament progressed, the girl fondly called ‘Vika’ failed to maintain the momentum and against Alize Cornet and Ana Ivanovic, she had to fight back a one-set deficit.

In her semi-final versus Flavia Pennetta, her serve let her down and an erroneous Vika was forced to call upon her inner instinct to push through the obstacle. That surely doesn’t look quite flattering before facing the seemingly indomitable Serena who can murder those returns.

Azarenka does have the game to match Serena power for power and with her fantastic angles and her swift movement, she does have the ability to nudge Serena out of her comfort zone. She definitely has to leave her service woes and put her nerves out of the way.

Having said that, serve has always been Serena’s biggest weapon and it has perhaps never deserted her during such momentous occasions. That’s what sets her apart. Add to that, she is chasing her place in history. And that sure is as ominous as it can get for the rest of the field.

Prediction: Serena wins in three sets.