Serena Williams beats Azarenka to win 5th US Open title

Top-seeded Serena Williams won her fifth US Open championship and 17th Grand Slam title overall by beating No. 2 Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-1 in a windy final.

 Williams, who turns 32 on Sept. 26, has now won the sixth-most Grand Slam titles in history and one less than Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. Williams collected a $3.6 million prize, including a $1 million bonus for producing the best results during the North American summer hard-court circuit leading up to the US Open.

Helped by nine aces, one at 126 mph (203 kph), Williams improved to 67-4 with a career-best nine titles in 2013. Since a first-round exit at the 2012 French Open, Williams is 98-5 with 14 titles, winning four of the past six Grand Slam tournaments.

"Vika's such a great opponent, such a great fighter," Williams said of Azarenka , "and that's why she's been able to win multiple Grand Slams. That's why it was never over until match point." This one did not come easily, even though it appeared to be nearly over when Williams went ahead by two breaks at 4-1 in the second set. Williams served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 - only to have the gutsy Azarenka break each time. This was a rematch of last year's final, also won by Williams in three sets, and two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka provided another challenge with her big swings.

"It is a tough loss, but to be in the final and play against the best player - who deserves to win today - it's incredible," said Azarenka, who is from Belarus. "I gave it all today. We showed our hearts. We fought hard." Four times, Azarenka was only two points from taking the opening set. At one such moment, with Williams serving at deuce after a double-fault, she was called for a foot fault, erasing what would have been a 121 mph (195 kph) ace. There was another foot-fault call in the second set, too.

No. 1-seeded Novak Djokovic faces No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the men's final Monday. It's the first time since 1996 that both US Open singles finals are matchups of first and second ranked players.

Williams has now equaled Steffi Graf with five US Open titles, one behind Evert's record of six in the Open era, which began in 1968. Williams never had won two consecutive US Opens, but now she has, adding to the trophies she earned in New York in 1999 - at age 17 - then 2002 and 2008.

Those go alongside five from Wimbledon, five from the Australian Open, and two from the French Open, which she won this year. Williams also became the first woman to surpass $9 million in prize money in a single season, while topping $50 million for her career.