Tennis: Serena beats Azarenka for US Open title

Serena Williams of the United States celebrates match point after defeatig Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to win the women’s singles final match on Day Fourteen of the 2012 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 9, 2012 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. AFP

NEW YORK – Serena Williams captured her 15th Grand Slam title and fourth career US Open crown with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory over World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka on Sunday.

In the first three-set final at the US Open since 1995, American fourth seed Williams joined her sister Venus and Steffi Graf as the only women to win Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open in the same year.

Williams was down a break twice in the third set but battled back to win after two hours and 18 minutes, winning when Azarenka swatted a backhand long and then laying down on her back and putting her hands over her face.

Williams, who turns 31 on September 26, became the second-oldest US Open women’s champion in the Open era. Australian Margaret Court was one month past her 31st birthday when she won the 1973 title.

Not since Martina Navratilova in 1987 had a woman won the US Open title past her 30th birthday.

Taking home a top prize of $1.9 million, Williams won her 45th career title after finishing second to Australia’s Samantha Stosur in 2011 following a year of health problems that included blood clots on her lungs.

Williams won prior US Open titles in 1999, 2002 and 2008 and added Grand Slam crowns at the 2002 French Open, the 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010 Australian Opens and Wimbledon in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010 and 2012.