“Kind of Person You Always Root For”: Serena Williams Complements Victoria Azarenka

Victoria Azarenka was victorious against Serena Williams in the semifinals of US Open 2020.  This was the fourth time the duo played against each other at the US Open and the first time since 2013.

Dubbed as the ‘battle of moms’, their clash didn’t disappoint. Azarenka seemed out of touch in the first set and was awful on serve and thus Serena took the set 6-1. But as the match progressed, Azarenka started pouncing on Serena. She started controlling the rallies and making Serena run the extra miles for each point. Ultimately, Serena couldn’t handle the intensity from the Belarusian and lost the match 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.

In her post-match press conference, Serena was asked about what Azarenka was doing differently. However, she had no concrete answer to it. The American pointed out that Azarenka had shifted her game to unseen levels, and that she had not responded in a befitting manner. 

“Well, you know, I don’t know what she’s doing well. She’s moving well. She’s playing well. I mean, she knows my game really well. We always have really good battles. When she’s playing against me, she just lifts her level to unseen levels. I think, you know, she won Cincinnati, so that’s good,” Serena said.

Serena Williams is a fan of Victoria Azarenka

Despite their rivalry, Serena hopes that Azarenka continues her excellent run and said she is always rooting for Azarenka.

“Hopefully she’ll keep going. But she’s just the kind of person you always root for, unless you’re playing her obviously. She’s just the kind of person you kind of always root for.” 

Well for Serena, she will have to go back and work on her fitness. Time and again we have seen her getting exhausted in the 3rd set. In the last few matches, Serena was just scrapping through, but against Azarenka, she couldn’t match her intensity and was totally outplayed by the Belarusian.

Azarenka plays Naomi Osaka in the finals. The two were due to play the finals at the Cincinnati Open two weeks ago, but Osaka had to withdraw due to a hamstring injury. Expect a great battle under the lights on Saturday.

Read More: Victoria Azarenka Makes Unique Grand Slam Record After Stunning Serena Williams at US Open 2020