WHAT HAPPENED: Victoria Azarenka rolled past Belgium's Elise Mertens, 6-1, 6-0, on Wednesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium to set up a blockbuster semifinal with Serena Williams at the US Open.
Azarenka, unseeded and ranked 27 at this year's Open, struck the ball with authority off of both wings and took control of the contest from the get-go. It was a near-flawless performance from the two-time Grand Slam champion that saw her break serve in each of Mertens' service games.
"I felt that I made the court really big today, which worked very well," said Azarenka. "And I'm very happy with my movement today, I felt like there was a lot of pressure on her to make a winner."
Azarenka broke Mertens in the first game of the match and continued to apply unrelenting pressure, eventually arriving at her first set point on serve 35 minutes into the match. Mertens, seeded 16th and playing in her first US Open quarterfinal, hooked a forehand wide, ending an opening set that saw Azarenka win 30 of 48 total points.
The second set's complexion was nearly identical, with Azarenka stepping into her groundstrokes and pummeling the ball as Mertens searched for a weakness to attack to no avail. Azarenka had to fight to break for 3-0, capping a three-deuce game with a backhand pass winner, and then coasted from there. The Belarusian held for 4-0 and broke for 5-0, sailing her sixth backhand winner of the evening up the line past a helpless Mertens.
Azarenka converted her fourth match point in the next game to clinch her tenth consecutive victory in one hour and 13 minutes.
WHAT IT MEANS: Azarenka will get another shot at taking revenge on Williams as they meet for the 23rd time and the 11th time at a Grand Slam. The history of these two great champions runs deep, but always Serena has managed to keep the feisty Belarusian under her wing.
Azarenka lost two heartbreaking US Open finals to Williams—in 2012 and 2013—and despite the fact that their last four meetings at the majors have gone three sets, she has lost them all, and lost all ten of her matches against Williams at the Grand Slams.
"Can it get any better?" Azarenka responded on the court after the match when asked about the matchup with her fellow mother Serena. "For me, it can't. I'm so excited about this. It's an amazing opportunity to play against a champion, someone who I respect a lot, who is my friend. I'm just so excited for this opportunity and I hope people are excited for this match."
MATCH POINT: Azarenka has reached a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since the 2013 US Open. She owns a 4-18 lifetime record against Williams, with all of those victories coming on hard courts.
Watchi highlights of the Azarenka-Mertens quarterfinal below.
