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Victoria Azarenka defeats Stosur to reach US Open semis

Last updated on .From the section Tenniscomments55

Victoria Azarenka and Sam Stosur

Top seed Victoria Azarenka beat defending champion Sam Stosur 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7-5) to reach the semi-finals of the US Open for the first time.

The Belarusian took the first set in 30 minutes before Stosur started firing winners at will to level the match.

Stosur overcame two breaks of serve to take the third set into a tie-break but was unable to recover from 4-0 down and lost in two hours and 23 minutes.

Azarenka plays either Maria Sharapova or Marion Bartoli next.

Eleventh seed Bartoli led 2006 champion Sharapova 4-0 in the first set when the match was postponed until Wednesday because of rain.

In the remaining quarter-finals, Serena Williams faces Ana Ivanovic and Sara Errani meets Roberta Vinci.

Azarenka's victory guarantees she will stay as world number one at the end of the tournament.

"I'm really looking forward to playing the tough battles I have still in the tournament," said the 23-year-old.

"Being in the semi-finals for the first time is an incredible feeling for me. I definitely don't want it to stop. I really want it bad."

The Belarusian had dropped only 10 games on her way to the last eight and was facing a player she had not conceded a set against in six previous meetings.

Stosur made a poor start and was 3-0 down when a heavy rain shower forced the players off court for more than an hour.

After the resumption she continued to make too many unforced errors and an errant backhand handed the first set to Azarenka.

Stosur broke serve for the first time early in the second and another break in the seventh game was enough to force a deciding set.

Having recovered from two breaks of serve, the Australian had a break point at 5-5 only for her rival to come up with an ace.

Azarenka saw a 5-0 lead in the tie-break become 5-5, but a drop shot and forehand winner closed out the match.

to win her first Grand Slam title 12 months ago and although there was sadness in defeat, the seventh seed took solace in her performance.

"There's always going to be disappointment when you lose in the quarters of the US Open," said Stosur.

"But I'm really pleased with the way I played. It was a really good match and I gave it everything I had."

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55 comments

  • Comment posted by RememberScarborough, at 22:32 4 Sep 2012

    @4 - It's got nothing to do with skin colour it's the fact that I hate matches being decided purely by how hard you can hit a tennis ball. A drop shot or a well executed lob is far more fun to watch than an ace. That's why I'd far rather watch the likes of Federer or Murray than the likes of Raonic or Isner. Colour doesn't matter, skill does.

  • Comment posted by jimthree60, at 22:21 4 Sep 2012

    Serena to win this, I think. She has power to burn, but I also enjoy watching Serena, she's got plenty of skill and variety to go with that. What's so bad about blasting opponents off the court anyway? She still has to control that power and make sure the shots land in the court.

  • Comment posted by scamper, at 22:37 4 Sep 2012

    @4 "Why are so many closet racist slating Serena Williams"

    Why do you believe that anyone who dislikes her must be a racist? All I've read is that people would prefer somebody else to win for a change. People have often said the same about Roger Federer in the past but I don't recall anyone retorting with the racism card then. Perhaps it's you who can't see past the colour of someone's skin.

  • Comment posted by U14966550, at 13:21 5 Sep 2012

    Azarenka vs Sharapova would be the definition of "should be seen and not heard". Beautiful women, great players, awful noise. At least Bartoli is a bit quieter.

  • Comment posted by jimthree60, at 12:58 5 Sep 2012

    Serena beat Hlavackova 6-0 6-0, @38. I think Ivanovic will be able to resist better than that.

    @40 comments like that are frankly beneath contempt.

  • Comment posted by Hartmut, at 12:15 5 Sep 2012

    Yes , I agree with Gordon's comment, screaming woman are a curse on the ears and detrimental to the game of tennis. I have stopped watching games were that infernal and continuous streaming occurs.
    Why can't officials stop it!

  • Comment posted by phil_glasgow, at 09:19 5 Sep 2012

    It really is about time the women's tennis association got to grips with the screamers/grunters/groaners in the game. I am now at the stage where I watch certain womens matches with the tv on mute because I can't take the racket any more

  • Comment posted by U14111780, at 00:34 5 Sep 2012

    The main pages has Azarenka screaming for joy ...

    ... o' my poor ears !!

  • Comment posted by Lahmy, at 00:12 5 Sep 2012

    I hope Serena wins this for 2 reasons. 1) She's my favourite non-British female tennis player (Come on Laura!!). Her game is just a joy to watch; she does everything so, so well. 2) She does a brilliant job of putting the squealers like Sharapova and Azarenka in their places. On another note, I was disappointed for Stosur today. She was very unlucky and played well; so close but so far.

  • Comment posted by jimthree60, at 23:16 4 Sep 2012

    @10 Looking at the stats for this tournament Serena's net play has been a bit patchy - high winner count, though. Outright winners seem to be increasingly uncommon in the Women's game - often it's about who makes the first mistake. That's why I like her. And, as an aside, is why I like Robson, who goes for her shots too, and has started to make them more often.

  • Comment posted by addickted2charlton, at 17:05 6 Sep 2012

    Vishal their remarks imply racism cos they don't say the same things abahrt white players who are similar in some way to Serena. They pick on Serena n make false comments which are personal, I don't see them make the same type of comments abaht Sharapova who also as an attitude or the Owlitzer who said she would tone dahn er gruntin but juss ignores he tennis authorities.

  • Comment posted by vishal, at 15:00 6 Sep 2012

    @Steve Lamb, for the avoidance of doubt: I make no accusations of anyone, nor have I said that anyone has been racist. You need to be careful as you have misquoted me entirely out of context. I wasn't referring to this forum specifically, but the general comments across many different platforms, just to be clear.

  • Comment posted by vishal, at 22:30 5 Sep 2012

    i am very disappointed at some of the racist remarks being leveled at serena williams and the false assertions that she simply relies on power to win matches. it smacks of racism when people focus purely on her physical attributes as a way of making underhand comments on her 'unfair strength'. she has skill, variety as well as power. graf/seles never faced such criticism despite their 'power' !

  • Comment posted by U11059620, at 17:04 5 Sep 2012

    The nonsense that Serena's game is all about power has been peddled for long by her detractors, but it doesn't gain any traction with those who know tennis. Serena's serve isnt the biggest in the game, for a start. Her unique ball toss require much more than just brute power. And what shot has she not got in d women's game- cross court forehand, counter punch, sumptuous drop voleys and much more?

  • Comment posted by addickted2charlton, at 15:28 5 Sep 2012

    Serena n Venus are 2 of the most elegant, graceful n Charl'on athletic tennis players, juss cos they've got power n can it the ball is no reason to insult them. Sadly there's loss of racist types on ere.

  • Comment posted by addickted2charlton, at 14:15 5 Sep 2012

    I agree blue, I can't stand er cos she makes all them owlitzer noises n Sharapova is juss as bad. Iss Serena all the way for me, least she can win withahrt the screamin.

  • Comment posted by U15414708, at 13:56 5 Sep 2012

    Azarenka v Sharapova is a contest I could not watch if I was paid to. When will WTA see that the noise made by those two in particular is driving people away from women's tennis?

  • Comment posted by U14726525, at 12:53 5 Sep 2012

    Azarenka's noise reminded me of a night I spent in the Mountain Zebra National Park. However I expect Stosur didn't notice it after a while.

  • Comment posted by Singlemalt and fries, at 12:18 5 Sep 2012

    to continue..
    I havent heard people complaining about Sampras or Becker for their power play. They relied heavily on their huge serves. of course they had great volleying and other skills but the serve was a stand out. The same can be said about a number of powerful players like Lendl and Navaratilova (in that era she stood out from the rest). Isn't Stosur a power player as is Kvitova?

  • Comment posted by Singlemalt and fries, at 11:24 5 Sep 2012

    Well done Azarenka for the win. She seems like a male version of Djokovic with tremendous ground strokes , mobility and fighting attitude. At the moment, she seems to be the only one who can stop Serena from winning the title.

    I cant understand why people slate serena for her power. Of course she has more skills than just power otherwise you cant win as many slams and Gold's as she has.

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