Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka entered their US Open semifinal with perfect 12-0 and 11-0 record in three-setters in 2012 respectively and their encounter went the distance, with the world No.1 Azarenka catching up with Sharapova after a 3-6 6-2 6-4 victory in two hours and 42 minutes.

Sharapova used to be 3-0 against Azarenka in three-set matches, but today it was the Belarusian who was much more confident on her serve, while her returns were out of this world. Even though the lack of tiebreaks may suggest that sets were not that long, a lot of the games were very tense, several lasting about 10 minutes, and tennis fans had their hearts full with the two power-hitters giving each other the perfect conditions to show their outstanding force and preciseness.

Five double faults didn't prevent Sharapova from winning the first set, but in the second set it was Azarenka who took charge, going up 4-1 and working her way to taking the most beautiful game of the match, the seventh game of the second set, in which Sharapova did have break points. Azarenka finished the job in the following game, even though Sharapova was 40-0 on her serve – an excellent winner, two double faults and an unforced error by Sharapova gave Azarenka a set point. Sharapova saved that first one, but succumbed on the second.

The third set lasted 74 minutes and had no breaks of serve until the very end! The length of the set was mostly due to Sharapova's struggles on her own serve, but also her determination not to give them up. Azarenka looked pretty cool and relaxed, while Sharapova seemed tense and a bit panicky, especially towards the end, truth be said, she had every reason for that. It was just a matter of time when she would not be able to save herself and that moment came in the tenth game of the deciding set.

Congratulations, Omair, for predicting the right winner of this semifinal! (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

The 2012 US Open semifinals feature three reigning Grand Slam champions (Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams), one reigning Grand Slam runner-up (Sara Errani), and all the three London Olympics medalists. What more can you ask for? Our contributor Omair is back in action, giving us his take on the upcoming semifinal match-ups. First up, Victoria Azarenka vs. Maria Sharapova.

For the second time this year, Azarenka and Sharapova will square off at a Grand Slam. In the Australian Open final in January, Azarenka demolished Sharapova 6-3 6-0. This time, Sharapova will try to reach her third major final of the year, while Azarenka will work for her second.

Azarenka leads the head-to-head against Sharapova by a slim margin of 5-4. They have already met three times this year, each time in the finals, with Azarenka coming out on top in two of the meetings. However, it was Sharapova who won their last encounter at Stuttgart.

Let's see their average stats for the matches played until the 2012 US Open quarterfinals.

The top-seeded Azarenka lost one set en route to the last four, while Sharapova survived three-setters in her last two matches. If you look at the stats, not much differentiates the two, but there will be a few key factors that both will need to work on. Read more »

After winning the second set, Samantha Stosur raised our hopes that she could finally beat Victoria Azarenka for the first time in their seven meetings, and in the thrilling third set she recovered from 1-3 down to 4-4 and from a devastating 0-4 in the tiebreak to 5-5. But with a nice drop shot, world No.1 Azarenka earned her first match point and finished the job right away, 6-1 4-6 7-6(5).

After just nine minutes of play in the first quarterfinal of the 2012 US Open, top seed Azarenka raced to a 3-0 lead facing the defending champion, against whom she was victorious in straight sets in all their six previous meetings. The rain then started falling and play was suspended for one hour and 17 minutes, but when the match resumed Azarenka just continued where she started and eased through the first set 6-1. The seventh-seeded Stosur was determined to stop the unfavorable tradition and won her first set against Azarenka in 14 tries, when a crucial break in the seventh game of the second set earned her a confidence-boosting win over Azarenka, whose 2012 record on hard surfaces coming into the match was an astonishing 30-2, while at this US Open her scorelines leading up to the quarterfinals look like this: 6-0 6-1, 6-2 6-2, 6-0 6-1, 6-2 6-2. As described in the introduction, Azarenka had the edge in the third set and is now 7-0 career against Stosur.

Azarenka's semifinal opponent will be either Maria Sharapova or Marion Bartoli, whose quarterfinal is now suspended due to rain. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Even though she's recorded two convincing victories so far at the US Open – 6-0 6-1 against Alexandra Panova in the first round and today 6-2 6-2 against Kirsten Flipkens – the Grand Slam is not the only thing Victoria Azarenka has been up to. The Belarusian has a new off-court activity – she’s become the international brand ambassador of the Citizen Watch Company, in particular of their Citizen Eco-Drive Unstoppable media campaign.

The company chose Azarenka for the multiyear deal because of her "unstoppable drive", "determination, acumen and style as well as her on-court accomplishments" and the fact that she’s seen as a "leader of this new generation of athletes", thus perfectly embodying the spirit of the Citizen Eco-Drive brand.

The WTA face we're used to associating with Citizen is Kim Clijsters (here you can see her recent ad for the brand). The Belgian, who started the cooperation in 2010, will retire very soon, so Citizen needs new promoters that are here to stay and the world No.1 Vika is the perfect choice. (source: Victoria Azarenka's official website)

Our guest blogger Omair likes to give WTA players unofficial titles on the account of their performance at big events. Notice how Serena improved from the Biggest Disappointment at Roland Garros, to Grass Empress at Wimbledon, to shortly afterwards become a Golden Empress at the Olympics.

SERENA WILLIAMS – GOLDEN EMPRESS

With her first gold medal in singles at the Olympics, Serena completed her Career Golden Slam, joining Steffi Graf and becoming only the second woman to achieve such a feat. Moreover, Serena did that in style, losing a total of 17 games in six matches. En route to the medal, Serena defeated four players who have ranked world number one at some point (Jelena Jankovic in the first round, Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals and Maria Sharapova in the final). She also became the only tennis player in history to complete Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles. With such a strong performance, Serena reinforces her title of grass empress earned during Wimbledon 2012.

MARIA SHARAPOVA, VICTORIA AZARENKA – BRIDESMAIDS

Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Sharapova and Azarenka were both the victims of Serena at the Olympics, and have combined three wins against her in 21 matches.

Sharapova rebounded strongly from her Wimbledon disappointment, however, she lost her plot completely once in the final and managed to win just one game in the most lopsided Olympic gold medal match.

Azarenka seemed determined to be on the course to win gold, but just like at Wimbledon, it was Serena who stood in her way. Azarenka had a chance to avenge her Wimbledon loss, but went down meekly, winning just three games against Serena. Read more »

Our contributing blogger Omair dug into the world of Olympic stats and brought us the previews of the semifinals. Let's see the numbers behind the 2012 Olympic performances of our semifinalists for an insight into who has a greater chance to win. First up on the menu: Victoria Azarenka vs. Serena Williams.

Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams will meet for the 10th time in their careers, most recent meeting coming on the very same lawns of Wimbledon just a few weeks ago, at the same stage of the tournament (in that match, Serena hit 24 aces, thus winning an entire set only with aces!). It was Serena who walked off victorious. Will it be different this time?

Azarenka fought hard to fend off the Angelique Kerber challenge in the quarterfinals, 6-4 7-5. Serena joined Azarenka shortly afterwards, thumping Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets, 6-0 6-3. This will be a rematch of their Wimbledon semifinal, where Azarenka put up a brave show, but lost in straight sets.

Williams has yet to lose a set in the 2012 London Olympics, while Azarenka has already lost a set in her first-round victory.

Let's have a look at Azarenka's and Serena's performance so far in the tournament.

Read more »

Visiting Victoria Azarenka's official Facebook page for her hot InStyle magazine photoshoot pics, I came across this wonderful childhood photo of the world number one WTA player. A comment from Facebook user Hilal Abdullah perfectly titles this picture: "From holding a chimp to being a champ".

This is not the first photo of the little Belarusian that we've seen. Remember the one we shared last November, with the mini Vika holding tight to her racquet and looking upwards to her aspiring future? So sweet!

Do browse through our complete collection of childhood photos of women's tennis players. You will see many cute treasures!

On her official Facebook page, Victoria Azarenka shared these stunning photos taken for the August 2012 issue of the InStyle Russia magazine. The long-legged Belarusian is gracing the cover, while the inside feature contains even more beautiful photos. My favorite is the above picture with the 22-year-old in the peach pleated skirt. Read more »