The extra day's wait for the women's singles final of the 2012 U.S. Open turned out to be well worth it, as Serena Williams won her fourth U.S. Open title and her 15th overall Grand Slam singles crown with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win over the tournament's No. 1 seed, Victoria Azarenka.
Playing in the Sunday late afternoon spot normally reserved for the men's final, Williams and Azarekna wrapped up the first and second sets by identical scores in 34 and 38 minutes, respectively, before embarking on a 66-minute third set worthy of a Grand Slam final.
Azarenka picked up an early break in the third set and served for the championship at 5-4, but Williams broke the Belorussian and won the next two games to cap a wonderful summer in which she also won Wimbledon and singles and doubles gold medals (the latter with her elder sister Venus) at the 2012 London Olympics.
Also on Sunday, Novak Djokovic booked a place opposite Andy Murray in Monday's men's final, finishing off a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 win over David Ferrer in a semifinal match that had been suspended Saturday due to bad weather in the New York City area.
Finally in Sunday's action, the Italian duo of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci took home the women's doubles title, defeating the Czech team of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 6-4, 6-2.
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