By Raleigh McPherson
NEW YORK (TheSportsNext) September 5, 2012: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus proved why she is the world number one tennis player on Tuesday when she kicked out the US Open defending champion Samantha Stosur of Australia, who was seventh seeded in the event, with a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) victory that earned her semifinals berth in the US Open 2012.
With this victory, Victoria Azarenka, 23, has made sure that she will remain as they world number one even if she faces defeat in the semifinal of the US Open 2012 at the Flushing Meadows.
Victoria Azarenka showed she had the appetite for success as she never lost her confidence and composure and ousted the seventh seeded defending champion in a hard-fought encounter.
The current Australian Open champion now awaits winner of the quarterfinal match between Marion Bartoli of France, 11thseeded, and Maria Sharapova of Russia, third seeded in the semifinal clash.
It is important to mention here that Maria Sharapova completed her career Grand Slam this year by winning the French Open title and is looking in great touch at the US Open.
With rains hitting the tennis action on Tuesday most of the matches were put off for Wednesday but Victoria Azarenka completed her victory on Tuesday despite of a 75-minute delay in the first set.
Samantha Stosur is yet to find a solution to her Azarenka problems as the Australian tennis player is yet to defeat her Belarusian opponent in their six meetings at the top level.
Talking about her attitude and appetite for victory, Victoria Azarenka told reporters, "I don't want to stop yet”.
When asked about her opponent, Azarenka stated, "She played amazing. The level was so much harder today. She made me play my best."
Admitting to the pressure of the match, Azarenka said, “We both showed some excellent tennis. You could feel the pressure all the time. We really both gave it all. We fought really hard, making each other run like crazy."
With this triumph, Victoria Azarenka also avoided becoming the first US Open women's top seed to crash out before the semis since Dinara Safina's third-round exit in 2009. However, another interesting point is that no women’s top seed has gone on to win a Grand Slam title since 2010 when Serena Williams won the Wimbledon title while no women’s top seed has won the US Open title since 2007 when Justine Henin achieved the feat.
However, Victoria Azarenka enjoys psychological advantage against both of her potential semi-final opponents as she leads Maria Sharapova 5-4 and Mario Bartoli 8-3.
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