Serena Williams walked out of Arthur Ashe Stadium with her fourth U.S. Open singles title Sunday, but faced with world's No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, even Williams was prepared to lose.
"I honestly can't believe I won. I really was preparing my runner-up speech, because I thought, 'Man, she's playing so great,'" Williams said during the trophy presentation. "I'm really shocked."
Down 3-5 in the decisive third set of the women's final late Sunday afternoon and into the evening, Williams was on the edge of dropping her second straight U.S. Open final, after losing to Samantha Stosur in the 2011 women's final.
Williams had been expected to breeze past the No. 1 Azarenka, as she had held a 9-1 all-time record against Azarenka in their 10 meetings. Instead, Azarenka forced Williams into a tough and exciting third set, where Williams eventually prevailed.
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