Andy Murray into US Open 2012 Final

By Raleigh McPherson

NEW YORK (TheSportsNext) September 9, 2012: Andy Murray of Great Britain defeated Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic and gusty winds speeding at 20 miles an hour at Ashe Arthur Stadium to storm his way into the US Open 2012 Final here Saturday.

On a day in New York which saw weather exhibiting its power to a great extent, Andy Murray was able to conquer the winds which blew a changeover chair on to the court as well as yanking his hat off during the semi-final match against Tomas Berdych who despite of winning the first set couldn’t prolong his concentration.

Andy Murray, who won the Olympic Gold Medal at London2012, is yet to win a Grand Slam title and this appears to be his best chance of achieving his career’s highest point.

Andy Murray completed his semi-final victory in four sets after losing the first set by 5-7 and then storming his way back into form by winning the next three sets by 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (7) as intermittent rains continued disrupting tennis action again and again.

In the other semi-final scheduled later on Saturday, defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia was pitted against David Ferrer of Spain but the continuous bad weather is not helping the optimism of completing the scheduled games on Saturday.

The US Open 2012 organizers have already played it safe with the women’s final to be played on Saturday between Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Serena Williams of United States by delaying it to Sunday.

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Victoria Azarenka storms into US Open Semifinals

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, 11^thseeded, 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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