Serena Williams says she has 'never felt better' than after winning the 2013 US Open The American allowed nerves to affect her during the second set, which she lost despite leading 4-1 and twice serving for the match. Williams believes the two are connected, saying: "When you're always trying to write history, or join history in my case, maybe you just get a little more nervous than you should. I also think it's kind of cool because it means that it means a lot to you. It means a lot to me, this trophy, and every single trophy that I have. It makes me feel that I'm still fighting just to be a part of this fabulous sport. Williams also picked up prize money of US dollars 3.6million after winning both the title and the US Open series comprising the summer tournaments in North America. That added USD one million to her cheque - not that Williams will ever see it. She said: "Never in my life have I picked up a cheque. I don't play tennis for the money. I honestly love to play. I love grand slams. When I grew up playing tennis in Compton, I just never thought about any of this. I think my dad got me into tennis because of the money, but me being naive and silly, I never thought about it. I just thought, 'I want to win. I want to do what Venus does. I remember back in the day before wiring they used to mail (the cheque) because I just would forget it. I'm just really more happy about the opportunity that I had because of my sister, because of Billie Jean King, because of so many pioneers to have an opportunity to win some money like this. For Azarenka it was deja vu after she also lost to Williams in the US Open final last year. The Belarusian had won both their previous matches on hard courts this season in Doha and Cincinnati but could not keep the upper hand going into the third set. Azarenka said: "I don't think there was much of a difference. I think the quality of the game and the quality of determination was the same. I think this match is a different story to last year. It showed a different, maybe not Serena, but it showed a different me as a player. I think that it's important to just try to go for those chances. I can't wait for the next chance. Azarenka can match Williams for competitive intensity and athleticism, if not quite for power, but the serve is a big difference. Seven double faults hurt Azarenka, while the world number two was out-aced nine to two. "You can always pinpoint what could have been better," said Azarenka. I'm just trying to look overall. Yes, I'm going to try to improve that particular aspect, because the gap between Serena's serve and my serve is pretty big. But I don't want to compare that because I think she has the best serve of all time. I'm just trying to find the way to raise my level.