Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka defeated No. 3 Maria Sharapova, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, in the U.S. Open semifinals at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday.
Azarenka bounced back after dropping the first set, capitalizing on 42 unforced errors and 10 double faults by Sharapova, while making just 19 unforced errors of her own. Sharapova won the service game with eight aces to Azarenka's zero, but she also led the match with 10 double-faults. Azarenka's consistency in the second and third sets proved to be too much for Sharapova to handle.
Azarenka will now await the winner of the semifinal match between No. 4 Serena Williams and No. 10 Sara Errani, which is scheduled to begin later Friday evening. This will be the Belarusian's second U.S. Open final of her career.
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