Having played five matches in seven days, Victoria Azarenka was ready for another one. It was her first singles final in nearly 18 months, and she has been looking for her biggest title since 2016.

The 31-year-old defeated several notable opponents on her way to the championship match, but she was especially excited about what she knew would be an uphill battle against Naomi Osaka.

But before the match was scheduled, Osaka retired with a hamstring injury. Azarenka was named Western & Southern Open Champion without touching the racket.

“I think this is unfortunate because I really really wanted to fight Naomi,” she said after the awards ceremony. “It would be an amazing opportunity to meet her level and she played really great. I lost to her the last time we played, so I was really looking forward to it.

“And playing the finals is always really special, so, you know, I just take it for what it is. I cannot change anything. I just have to accept what he is. I would like to play. “

That was two weeks ago.

On Saturday Azarenka will achieve his desire to play in Osaka. This time at Arthur Ashe Stadium, while millions of people around the world watch on television, with a Grand Slam title on the line at the U.S. Open (4pm ET) ESPN and ESPN App).

“I’m just as excited as last week,” Azarenka said after beating Serena Williams 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in Thursday’s semifinals. “I’m sure that this time we are going to play and it will be a great match. I think it will be an amazing ending. Hopefully it will. I’ll have some fun.

“But she’s a very, very strong player. She is a great champion. She has already won two. Aren’t we both looking for a third? It will be fun”.

Both players made the most of their time in New York during a two-tournament bubble. When she arrived in the city, Azarenka had not won a single match for over a year and had repeatedly thought about retirement. It was a challenging few years for the former No. 1 world champion who won consecutive Australian Open titles in 2012 and 2013.

After the birth of her son, Leo, in December 2016, she returned to tour the following June, but played a conflicting schedule, due to a controversial custody battle that led to travel restrictions. She was unable to play in Australia to open the 2020 season but wanted to give tennis one last time. She put her tour on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, refocusing on the game, and says this is where she regained confidence.

“Faith comes earlier [winning the big matches]”She said after her victory on Thursday.” Before Cincinnati, before Lexington, this happened on the tennis court in practice, not in practice. I didn’t start exercising my faith when I started getting results. [It] it doesn’t work that way. So my faith has come from long ago, from deep within me, this is what I want to do, and I will work very hard on it.

“Have I thought about the results? That is, I want to think about the results, but I don’t necessarily put it in perspective. I was thinking about how can I level up? How can I be psychologically stable and resilient “I’ve always been tough, but I had moments when I just wasn’t there. I was not at the moment. I found that this serenity is present now. “

She won 11 matches in a row and will return to the top 20 for the first time since 2017. During Thursday’s semi-finals with longtime opponent (and off-court buddy) Williams, unseeded Azarenka lost the first set 6-1. but dug deep to pull off an incredible comeback and reach her first major final since 2013. And while many have long expected Williams to be the next mother to win the Helmet after four finals after returning to competition after giving birth, it is Azarenka who has the chance to become the fourth mother in Open Era history to win a Major.

Osaka, 22, admitted she struggled with the weight of her early success, won the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open, and was disappointed with her subsequent performance. She lost the fourth round at Queens last year and fell 32nd round in Melbourne to start the season. But she also found perspective during an unexpected break.

“To be honest, I feel like I’ve been pushing myself too hard for the whole of 2019 after winning Australia,” she said earlier this week. “I didn’t like it … I just thought to myself,” I’m going to quarantine to mentally assess what I want to do when I return. ” And to me, when you go out to Ash, there is a Billie Jean King quote that says, “Pressure is a privilege,” and I think it’s very true. “

Osaka did not use the time to simply improve her game or attitude; she increasingly used her voice to address issues that matter to her. She went to Minneapolis to protest the death of George Floyd, and wrote an article for Esquire about systematic racism and oppression. This commitment to social justice did not end when the season resumed.

A few hours after reaching the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open, Osaka announced its intention to miss the match the next day, hoping to spark conversation after the police shot Jacob Blake. Her selfless act pushed the sport to match the moment, and the tournament announced that there would be no matches the next day, in the hope that this was reassuring. Two days later, she played the postponed match and arrived at her match at Black Lives Matter Shirt…

Throughout its performance at the US Open, Seed # 4 wore a different mask for each match, each representing the name of someone who died as a result of racial injustice and police brutality, in the hopes of bringing the issue to global attention. their stories and plight. Osaka has repeatedly expressed a desire to wear all seven masks, and now she will do just that.

“I really think it’s a very important motivator for me to just try to get the names out to as many people as possible,” she said Thursday after beating American Jennifer Brady in the semifinals. “So I’m not sure if this gives me additional power. I definitely want more people to talk about it. “

None of the players lack motivation. Since both are playing their best tennis in recent memory, and each is arguably more energized and excited than ever before, Saturday has all the makings of a classic finale.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two players, with Osaka having a Serie 2 lead: 1. Their last meeting in the second round of the 2019 French Open was in three sets, with Osaka ultimately winning.

Osaka coach Wim Fissett knows this will be another tough match for her. And he would know. Previously, he coached Azarenka, so he understands both players, their style and strengths better than others.

“Of course, I know Vicky’s game well,” he said. “But I feel like this is the US Open final. It’s all about controlling emotions and trying to play the best tennis at the right time.

“Tomorrow a decision will be made on several key points. I feel. Maybe an ace at the right moment or a double fault at the wrong moment can decide this match. I feel like this is a very close match with two players who have played the best tennis in the last three weeks. Yes, I’m sure there will be a huge battle tomorrow. “

Can Osaka, representing a movement much larger than itself, continue to help spread the message by winning the world’s largest sports arena? Will Azarenka be able to finish his incredible and inspiring race and return to his place as one of the best tennis players?

One thing is for sure: someone will win their third major title on Saturday, while the other will be left with the runner-up trophy. But with both of them already accomplishing a lot over the past few weeks – on and off court – it looks like they both will leave New York as champions.

“The way I see myself now on the tennis court, outside the tennis court, is that I don’t necessarily put myself where I’m going to be just this or that result is what matters, “Azarenka said earlier this week.” For me, all this is experience. I live in the moment. I enjoy the moment, whatever it is. I perceive life as it is.

“It took me a long way to come here, with a lot of struggle, a lot of understanding that made me find this route, this path, so to speak. But I am here and I am happy. “