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| Williams Surprises Herself, Rallying to Open Title | |
| (36 minutes later) | |
| After a set, a fourth United States Open title for Serena Williams looked like a foregone conclusion as she ripped serves and ground strokes Sunday at Arthur Ashe with the same power and precision that had defined her summer. | After a set, a fourth United States Open title for Serena Williams looked like a foregone conclusion as she ripped serves and ground strokes Sunday at Arthur Ashe with the same power and precision that had defined her summer. |
| Who could have imagined then that by the end of this fine tornado-free evening, victory would come as a surprise, leaving Williams with her eyes wide and her hands to her head? | |
| “I was preparing my runners-up speech,” Williams said. | “I was preparing my runners-up speech,” Williams said. |
| She would have had to deliver it if the world’s No. 1-ranked player, Victoria Azarenka, had seized her opportunity when serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set. Although Azarenka had done an often-admirable job of coping with Williams’s first-strike pressure in this big-swinging final, she could not handle the chance to win her first United States Open. | She would have had to deliver it if the world’s No. 1-ranked player, Victoria Azarenka, had seized her opportunity when serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set. Although Azarenka had done an often-admirable job of coping with Williams’s first-strike pressure in this big-swinging final, she could not handle the chance to win her first United States Open. |
| She lost the first three points, two with unforced backhand errors, and then soon lost the game with a forehand in the tape. Williams, whose mood and form had fluctuated wildly after the opening set, would not lose her way again, putting an exclamation point on the story of her remarkable summer of tennis by closing out a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory that will rank among her most memorable. | She lost the first three points, two with unforced backhand errors, and then soon lost the game with a forehand in the tape. Williams, whose mood and form had fluctuated wildly after the opening set, would not lose her way again, putting an exclamation point on the story of her remarkable summer of tennis by closing out a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory that will rank among her most memorable. |
| In May, she made personal history of a more painful sort when she lost in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament in singles for the first time, losing her nerve and her rhythm against Virginie Razzano of France on clay at the French Open. | In May, she made personal history of a more painful sort when she lost in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament in singles for the first time, losing her nerve and her rhythm against Virginie Razzano of France on clay at the French Open. |
| Since then, the 30-year-old Williams has won the singles and women’s doubles at Wimbledon, won the singles and doubles gold medals at the Summer Olympics and now changed her luck at the United States Open, the tournament where she won her first Grand Slam singles title as a teenager but where she has lost control of her temper and her huge shots in recent years. | Since then, the 30-year-old Williams has won the singles and women’s doubles at Wimbledon, won the singles and doubles gold medals at the Summer Olympics and now changed her luck at the United States Open, the tournament where she won her first Grand Slam singles title as a teenager but where she has lost control of her temper and her huge shots in recent years. |
| “Now she’s starting to really play up to her potential, which is really great to see,” said Billie Jean King, the former American women’s star who has sometimes counseled Williams. “I think she’s very appreciative of her good health now with what she went through and also what her sister is going though. And she is maturing as a person and you start to appreciate things in a different way as you grow.” | “Now she’s starting to really play up to her potential, which is really great to see,” said Billie Jean King, the former American women’s star who has sometimes counseled Williams. “I think she’s very appreciative of her good health now with what she went through and also what her sister is going though. And she is maturing as a person and you start to appreciate things in a different way as you grow.” |
| There was much to savor Sunday evening. Her victory over Azarenka, the 23-year-old from Belarus, gave Williams a 15th Grand Slam singles title, and although Azarenka will still be ranked No. 1 on Monday, her victory made Williams the clear player of the year as the only woman to win two major singles titles (three if you consider the Olympics a major). | There was much to savor Sunday evening. Her victory over Azarenka, the 23-year-old from Belarus, gave Williams a 15th Grand Slam singles title, and although Azarenka will still be ranked No. 1 on Monday, her victory made Williams the clear player of the year as the only woman to win two major singles titles (three if you consider the Olympics a major). |
| She managed it despite a significant dip in form in the final. In her first six matches in New York, she had often looked unbeatable, never coming close to dropping a set. And she had not dropped a set in her three previous matches against Azarenka this year, taking a 9-1 lead in their head-to-head series. | She managed it despite a significant dip in form in the final. In her first six matches in New York, she had often looked unbeatable, never coming close to dropping a set. And she had not dropped a set in her three previous matches against Azarenka this year, taking a 9-1 lead in their head-to-head series. |
| At Wimbledon, after she defeated Azarenka, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the semifinals, Azarenka’s coach Sam Sumyk seemed both impressed and perplexed as he talked about the challenge posed by Williams. | At Wimbledon, after she defeated Azarenka, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the semifinals, Azarenka’s coach Sam Sumyk seemed both impressed and perplexed as he talked about the challenge posed by Williams. |
| “It’s the power; Vika just didn’t have an answer for the power,” Sumyk said. | “It’s the power; Vika just didn’t have an answer for the power,” Sumyk said. |
| She had no answers in the first set here either as Williams put 64 percent of her first serves into play, dominated the exchanges and won 30 points to Azarenka’s 18. | She had no answers in the first set here either as Williams put 64 percent of her first serves into play, dominated the exchanges and won 30 points to Azarenka’s 18. |
| But Williams then lost her serve in the opening game of the second set, committing two unforced errors and a double fault. When she missed a backhand return as Azarenka took a 2-0 lead, Williams shouted, “Oh my!” and banged the strings of her racket with her hand. | But Williams then lost her serve in the opening game of the second set, committing two unforced errors and a double fault. When she missed a backhand return as Azarenka took a 2-0 lead, Williams shouted, “Oh my!” and banged the strings of her racket with her hand. |
| In the next service game, at 30-15, she was called for a foot fault on a first serve on the same baseline where she had been called for a foot fault against Kim Clijsters in the semifinals of the 2009 United States Open. That call prompted one of the most infamous tirades in tennis history as Williams spoke menacingly to the lineswoman and was eventually given a point penalty, awarding match point to Clijsters. | In the next service game, at 30-15, she was called for a foot fault on a first serve on the same baseline where she had been called for a foot fault against Kim Clijsters in the semifinals of the 2009 United States Open. That call prompted one of the most infamous tirades in tennis history as Williams spoke menacingly to the lineswoman and was eventually given a point penalty, awarding match point to Clijsters. |
| This time, Williams did not lose her temper, but after holding serve, she did look toward the male linesman behind the rose-colored glasses who had called the foot fault and gave him a long, hard stare as she walked to her chair down, 1-2. | This time, Williams did not lose her temper, but after holding serve, she did look toward the male linesman behind the rose-colored glasses who had called the foot fault and gave him a long, hard stare as she walked to her chair down, 1-2. |
| Williams looked deeply unsettled after that as Azarenka won four of the next five games to even the match at one set apiece and Williams, looking tight, struggled to find a balanced platform from which to launch her huge strokes. | Williams looked deeply unsettled after that as Azarenka won four of the next five games to even the match at one set apiece and Williams, looking tight, struggled to find a balanced platform from which to launch her huge strokes. |
| But Azarenka certainly deserved some of the credit. Hardcourts are her best canvas. She won her first Grand Slam singles title in January at the Australian Open on a similar surface, and she sharpened her game here by surviving a much tougher draw than Williams, defeating the defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia in a three-set quarterfinal and defeating the former United States Open champion Maria Sharapova in a three-set semifinal. | But Azarenka certainly deserved some of the credit. Hardcourts are her best canvas. She won her first Grand Slam singles title in January at the Australian Open on a similar surface, and she sharpened her game here by surviving a much tougher draw than Williams, defeating the defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia in a three-set quarterfinal and defeating the former United States Open champion Maria Sharapova in a three-set semifinal. |
| But Azarenka, who is 6-feet tall and possesses fine reach, is one of the game’s best returners and also has a remarkable ability to counter big returns off her own serve. As the match developed from a rout into a classic, she repeatedly came up with fast-twitch, quick-swinging half volleys from the baseline that surprised Williams. | But Azarenka, who is 6-feet tall and possesses fine reach, is one of the game’s best returners and also has a remarkable ability to counter big returns off her own serve. As the match developed from a rout into a classic, she repeatedly came up with fast-twitch, quick-swinging half volleys from the baseline that surprised Williams. |
| But she could not quite close the deal and as Williams celebrated inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Azarenka sat in her chair and cried. | But she could not quite close the deal and as Williams celebrated inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Azarenka sat in her chair and cried. |
| “It could have gone my way, probably yes, but it didn’t,” Azarenka said. “And it really hurts and those emotions come out.” | “It could have gone my way, probably yes, but it didn’t,” Azarenka said. “And it really hurts and those emotions come out.” |