NEW YORK—Normally so good, so gritty, in the crucible of the third set, Maria Sharapova finally met her match in Victoria Azarenka in their US Open semifinal on Friday.
Coming all the way back from a set and a break down, the top-seeded Azarenka prevailed in a stirring third, beating four-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, to reach her first US Open final.
Sharapova had been 12-0 in three-setters this year, and had won 78 consecutive matches in which she took the opening set, dating back to 2010.
On Saturday, Australian Open champion Azarenka will play in her second major final of the season—and career—against 14-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams. Seeking a fourth title at Flushing Meadows, the fourth-seeded Williams overwhelmed 10th-seeded Sara Errani of Italy, 6-1, 6-2.
Williams, trying to become the first 30-year-old woman to win the US Open since Martina Navratilova in 1987, compiled a 38-6 edge in winners in her 64-minute semifinal against Errani. AP