“My Ego was Smaller”: Victoria Azarenka Ousts Serena Williams at US Open 2020

Victoria Azarenka overcame one of the toughest challenges in tennis – beating Serena Williams when she’s in full flow. Azarenka showed her steely resolve to win in three tough sets and later termed it as one of her strongest comebacks ever.

“It was mentally one of the strongest comebacks I’ve done. I had to get myself out of really big trouble. At this stage of a Grand Slam against Serena, I know she’s not going to give away anything. In that way it’s one of the best matches I’ve played,” Victoria Azarenka said in her on-court interview.

At one point, it looked like Williams would run away with the match. But Azarenka made a comeback, utilizing her current momentum earned with an unbeaten run that now extends to 12 matches.

“I was young, my ego was way too big. Now it’s a little smaller and the results are coming,” she expressed.

Victoria Azarenka wins ‘match of the mothers’

Azarenka eventually won 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the match between the mothers. Through the tournament, Azarenka has talked about how becoming a mother has changed her life and that she wants to do well in her comeback to set an example for her son Leo.

The Belarusian star resonated those feelings again after reaching Saturday’s final. “I want to inspire my own child, and I hope that women around the world know that they can do anything. ‘Cause being a parent is the toughest thing but once you can balance that, you can do anything,” Azarenka expressed further.

‘Fighter’ Azarenka sets up clash with Osaka in final

At the same time, she also said that when on the tennis court, she will fight till the end.

“I feel like you can’t always identify yourself as just one thing. You have many things you can do in your life. Being a parent is the most important thing in my life, but I’m a tennis player on the court—I’m a fighter on the court. I want to go after my dreams,” Azarenka added.

The 31-year-old will now face Naomi Osaka in a repeat of the Western and Southern Open final just two weeks ago. However, this time we should expect a great battle after the Cincinnati final did not happen due to an injury to Osaka. The 4th seed Osaka defeated Jennifer Brady to reach the US Open 2020 final.