Stuck on 23 Slam trophies since winning the 2017 Australian Open and having lost four major finals since that last success at Melbourne Park, Williams looked on track to earn a 2018 U.S. Open final rematch with Naomi Osaka after blitzing Azarenka in the first set.
But two-time major champion Azarenka completed a memorable comeback to prevail 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday for her first Slam final since the 2013 U.S. Open decider, which she lost at Flushing Meadows.
Riding a 10-match winning streak and having won the Western & Southern Open, a nervous Azarenka did not look like a player in form to start the match in a battle of the mothers.
Appearing in her first Slam semifinal in seven years, Azarenka was broken in the opening game following two double faults. It was a sign of things to come against ruthless third-seeded Williams.
Committed to going big as she attacked Azarenka, a fast-starting Williams was unstoppable as the 38-year-old American superstar hit 12 winners and broke three times — she closed out a lopsided first set on her opponent’s serve.
Two-time U.S. Open runner-up Azarenka, however, turned the match on its head in a high-octane second set under lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Unseeded Azarenka settled in after saving a break point in the first game of the second set.
Finding her range and eliminating unforced errors, Azarenka dug deep as the Belarusian earned a pair of break points, only needing one for a 3-2 lead before consolidating.
Azarenka produced a complete turnaround, reeling off 12 winners and a solitary unforced error against Williams, whose timing appeared off as the showdown went to a deciding set.
There was a worrying moment in the second game when six-time U.S. Open champion Williams hunched over and required a medical timeout, re-emerging with a heavily strapped ankle.
Williams willed herself on, but Azarenka had all the momentum, breaking for a 3-0 advantage that she never relinquished.
