Williams is seeking her 17th Grand Slam singles crown and fifth US Open title, which would move her one shy of Chris Evert&rsquo;s Open-era record for most titles at the year&#39;s final major event on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m definitely prepared. I&rsquo;m definitely ready for New York,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;I definitely had more matches than I could want, but I&rsquo;m definitely prepared for the US Open.&rdquo; <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/aug/serena.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 417px;" /> Another challenge: Serena Williams The 31-year-old American has been on an amazing run over the past 14 months, going 77-4 and capturing last year&rsquo;s Wimbledon, London Olympic and US Open titles, plus this year&rsquo;s French Open crown. But two of those defeats came at the hands of Azarenka, in February&rsquo;s Doha final and last Sunday at the WTA final in Cincinnati by a score of 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8/6). &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just always good to play such great players like Victoria who really plays well and makes me lift my game to a new level,&rdquo; Williams said. It was only the third victory for the 24-year-old from Belarus over the American but with the two having won five of the past seven Grand Slam titles, it sets the stage for a potential rematch of last year&#39;s US Open final. Williams beat Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in last year&rsquo;s US Open final but the effort in defeat resonates with Azarenka to this day. &ldquo;It will always be a special moment, for sure, because I felt like that whole tournament, that final match left a big mark on my future career,&rdquo; Azarenka said. &ldquo;I still feel that way.&rdquo; Williams sees no influence from prior meetings in a potential New York final with Azarenka again this year. &ldquo;It would be totally different circumstances,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a new event. You just got to go in there with a fresh mind.&rdquo; Williams will go into the Open without a win streak such as she had the past few Grand Slam events. &ldquo;It makes me more relaxed and almost happy that I lost because now I don&#39;t have to worry about every day someone asking me about some silly winning streak,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;So maybe (losing in Cincinnati) was for the best.&rdquo; Williams also finds herself in a cordial rivalry, appreciating Azarenka off the court as a friend and on the court as an adversary. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s so competitive on the court, like an animal, and I&rsquo;m the same exact way, like my dad described me as a pitbull,&rdquo; Williams said.

World No 1 Serena Williams enters the US Open as a heavy favourite to defend her title, but second-ranked Victoria Azarenka leads a host of rivals looking to dethrone her

Serena favourite, but Azarenka is a big threat

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Serena favourite, but Azarenka is a big threat

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