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Serena shrugs off chase in US Open showdown
The 31-year-old American will try to capture her 17th Grand Slam title and become the oldest women's champion in US Open history in a repeat of last year's final, which she won in three sets.
Williams seeks her fifth US Open crown in her seventh final, her 21st career Grand Slam final, and would be the first top-seeded champion since Justine Henin in 2007.
And she would move her career Slam total just one shy of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert for second on the Open Era list behind the 22 of retired German star Graf.
"I can't think about it," Williams said. "It's so close but still so far. I have to play a great player and play great tennis."
Australia's Margaret Court owns the all-time career record of 24.
The day begins with the men's doubles final featuring India's Leander Paes and Czech Radek Stepanek against Brazil's Bruno Soares and Alexander Peya of Austria.
Williams, who has lost only 16 games over six matches, could win the title 18 days before her 32nd birthday, making her 293 days older than Australian Margaret Court was when she won the 1973 title to set the current age mark.
And after titles in 1999, 2002, 2008 and last year, Williams could finally claim back-to-back crowns.
"To be able to defend a title for once would be really awesome," she said.
Not since Williams in 2008 has a US Open champion lifted the trophy without losing a set, but Williams could make it happen Sunday by winning her ninth crown of the year, what would be her career-record title haul for one season.
"I have been really focused," Williams said. "My practices have been much better than my matches. I set some goals for myself in my matches and I've met those goals every time."
But world No 2 Azarenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, sees herself as a more versatile and dangerous player than when she lost to Williams 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in the final a year ago.
"There are aspects that got better physically," Azarenka said. "Mentally I felt like this year was a great turning point for me on some level for my career. I feel like I'm a better player. I'm a more complete player.
"From the groundstrokes to movement to coming in to variety, I think all those little things are coming together, paying a lot more details on how to create a bigger arsenal."
Azarenka, who won the past two Australian Open titles, seeks a third career Grand Slam title and could become the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997 to win the US and Australian Opens in the same year.
If Williams wins the title, she would receive the $2.6 million first prize plus a $1 million bonus for her performance in US Open tuneup events. The total would boost her above $9 million in season earnings, a women's record, and boost her career winnings above $50 million.
"Last time I had this opportunity I blew up. It didn't work out," Williams said, recalling her 2011 US Open finals loss to Australian Samantha Stosur.
If Azarenka wins, she would collect $3.1 million, including a $500 000 bonus.
No matter how Sunday turns out, Williams and Azarenka will have combined to win six of eight Grand Slam titles over the past two years, although their only Grand Slam finals matchups in the span have come in New York.
"When you play against Serena, you have to play your best. She makes me play my best. I think I kind of do the same way to her," Azarenka said.
"We raise each other's level all the time and take each other to the limit, to go out of that place where you sometimes don't know how far you can go, but you just still go for it."
Williams leads the all-time rivalry 12-3 but Azarenka has won two of three matches this year, most recently in last month's Cincinnati final.
'Sleeping' Victoria Azarenka survives Ana Ivanovic scare at U.S. Open
September 3, 2013 -- Updated 2157 GMT (0557 HKT)
Victoria Azarenka didn't play her best at the U.S. Open in the fourth round but did enough to beat Ana Ivanovic.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Victoria Azarenka beats Ana Ivanovic in three sets to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals
- Azarenka also needed three sets to beat France's Alize Cornet in the previous round
- Azarenka is the favorite in the bottom half of the draw to make the final in New York
- Li Na advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time by topping Ekaterina Makarova
Azarenka dropped the
first set against the former world No. 1 and struggled to put the
Serbian away but eventually prevailed 4-6 6-3 6-4 in a hard-hitting
fourth-round encounter that was pushed back to Tuesday because of rain.
It was the second
straight match the world No. 2 -- she, too, is a former No. 1 -- needed
to stage a comeback following a sluggish start. France's Alize Cornet
won their tiebreak in the first set in the third round.
Men's No. 1 Novak Djokovic had no such troubles, routing Spaniard Marcel Granollers in about one hour, 20 minutes.
Read: Heartbreaking loss for Azarenka
Azarenka struck a mere
four winners in the first set against Ivanovic, combined with nine
unforced errors. Ivanovic certainly wasn't asleep, crushing 17 winners.
"Ana came out firing and
played amazing in the first set, and I felt like I was a little out of
place," Azarenka said in an interview on court. "I was sleeping but she
was ripping winners and serving great so I really had to wake up in the
second set and fight for the points.
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"In the second set I was more determined, more focused and taking the opportunities."
Her numbers weren't that
much better in the second set but Ivanovic cooled thanks in part to
Azarenka changing the pace at times with a drop shot.
In a seesaw third set --
there were four straight breaks at one stage -- Azarenka blew two match
points serving at 5-3 only to be let off the hook when Ivanovic dumped a
backhand on a fourth match point.
Although Ivanovic put up a brave fight, she ultimately slumped to 3-20 against top-two opposition.
"The match points were
pretty bad," Azarenka, who lost last year's final to Serena Williams,
said. "I didn't really go for my shots. I kept waiting for a mistake. It
didn't happen.
"She played really great. Especially in the tough moments I felt she was raising her game. I had to stay tough as well."
Azarenka meets pal
Daniela Hantuchova in the quarterfinals having captured two of their
four previous encounters. Three of the matches have gone the distance.
Former French Open
winner Li Na of China achieved a first U.S. Open semifinal by overcoming
tricky Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-4 6-7 6-2 and there was more drama
in the men's fourth round as Russia's Mikhail Youzhny outlasted fellow
veteran Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.
Youzhny, previously a semifinalist in New York, upended the 2001 champion 6-3 3-6 6-7 6-4 7-5 in four hours.
Having blown a 5-2 lead
in the fourth, Hewitt broke Youzhny to get back on serve in the fifth.
Youzhny subsequently broke at 5-5 and served out the match.
Youzhny next confronts
Djokovic, a 6-3 6-0 6-0 winner over a seemingly weakened Granollers.
Granollers' first three matches went to five sets and he also played
doubles in New York.
Serena Williams smashes her way into U.S. Open semifinals
September 4, 2013 -- Updated 1505 GMT (2305 HKT)
World No. 1 Serena Williams is bidding for a fifth U.S. Open singles title.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Serena Williams beats Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0 6-0 at the U.S. Open
- Williams will play fifth seed Li Na in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows
- World No. 1 Novak Djokovic cruises past Marcel Granollers to reach quarterfinals
- 2012 champion Andy Murray into the last eight after beating Denis Istomin
The defending champion,
bidding for a fifth singles triumph at Flushing Meadows, beat the
Spanish world No. 20 6-0 6-0 to become the first woman since Martina
Navratilova in 1989 to win a women's U.S. Open quarterfinal without
losing a game.
"I played well -- I
played really well," world No. 1 Williams told the WTA's official
website. "I was just more focused than anything.
"I like to believe there
is always room for improvement though. I haven't really thought about it
yet, but off the bat, I think it was very difficult to hit a big serve
today because of the winds, and I didn't get my serve up as much as I
wanted to. But I don't know. I do think I definitely played well
tonight."
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The American's latest commanding win means she has lost just 13 games at the tournament ahead of her semifinal meeting with Li Na, who is appearing in the last four of the year's final grand slam for the first time after beating Russia's Ekaterina Makarova.
"I'm still in the
tournament and I'm not thinking like, 'I'm really dominant now'," added
Williams. "I'm thinking I have a really tough match in the next round
and want to do well."
Earlier in the day second seed Victoria Azarenka, beaten by Williams in the 2012 final, won her delayed fourth round match against former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic.
In the men's draw, top seed Novak Djokovic made light work of his fourth round meeting with Spaniard Marcel Granollers.
The six-time grand slam champion wrapped up a 6-3 6-0 6-0 win in just one hour and 19 minutes.
The world No. 1 was
delighted with his performance as he bids to erase the memory of an
agonizing five-set defeat to Andy Murray in last year's final.
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"I had some great
matches in the past that I can compare with this one today, but
definitely today, second and third set have been some of the best tennis
that I've played on Arthur Ashe in my career," Djokovic told the ATP
Tour's official website.
"It's a fantastic
feeling when you're playing this well. You love spending time on the
court and experiencing such great zone where you are at that moment."
Read: Federer crashes out of U.S. Open
Djokovic's quarterfinal opponent will be 21st seed Mikhael Youzhny, who got the better of 2001 champion Lleyton Hewitt in a marathon five-set contest.
Defending champion and second seed Murray survived a scare to set up a last eight match with Swiss No. 9 Stanislas Wawrinka.
The Briton lost the
first set of his meeting with Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin before roaring
back to clinch a 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4 6-4 victory.
"I wanted to just try
and get through the match," said 2013 Wimbledon winner Murray. "In the
end it was difficult conditions. It was extremely windy today.
"With the way he plays,
he hits the ball pretty big and flat on both sides, strokes pretty low,
hard at times to control. He made it very difficult for me.
"With the way the third
set ended up going, I was just very happy to get it done, because he had
chances at the end of the third set to go ahead."
Roger Federer is left dejected by his US Open loss to Tommy Robredo
Roger Federer's failed to halt his slump as he
suffered a straight-sets defeat against Tommy Robredo in the fourth
round of the US Open.
However he was dumped out of Wimbledon in the second round by Sergiy Stakhovsky - the first time he failed to at least reach make the quarter-final in a grand slam since 2004.
And the former world No 1 was left dejected by his exit at Flushing Meadows - with Federer losing 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 6-4 to Robredo.
Federer, who had never previously lost to the Spaniard, said: "I kind of feel like I beat myself, without taking any credit away from Tommy. Clearly he was making sure he was making many balls. It was up to me to make the difference and I couldn't.
"I kind of self-destructed, which is very disappointing, especially on a quicker court. Your serve helps you out. You're going to make the difference somewhere.
"I just couldn't do it. It was a frustrating performance."
The stats backed up Federer's claims as five-time US Open champion made 43 errors in three sets, while he converted just two break points from 16 chances.
However Federer, now 32, insists that he can bounce back from the loss.
"It just ended up being a bad combination of many things," he said.
Stronger
"So I've definitely got to go back to work and come back stronger, get rid of this loss now as quick as I can, forget about it, because that's not how I want to play from here on."I want to play better. I know I can. I showed it the last few weeks, that there is that level. So today was pretty frustrating."
Rafael Nadal celebrates beating Philipp Kohlschreiber at the US Open
And Nadal was delighted to hear that Robredo had ousted Federer.
"He's playing great, I'm happy for him," said Nadal.
"He had similar circumstances to me, he came back after a tough injury. I'm happy to see him back on the tour. He's had an amazing career, he's playing a great tournament. Winning against Roger in the US Open is amazing."
Fellow Spaniard David Ferrer is also through to the last eight, although the fourth seed was given a fright by Janko Tipsarevic.
Ferrer eventually claimed a 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-3) victory, however Tipsarevic was left to rue missed opportunities as he served for both the first and third sets.
Richard Gasquet came through a five-set epic to eventually beat Milos Raonic 6-7 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (11-9) 7-5.
Raonic hit 102 winners and 39 aces but the Canadian made far too many unforced errors as Gasquet's patience paid off.
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