Serena Williams' fifth U.S. Open crown is her 17th Grand Slam title Serena Williams reacts after match point defeating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in 3 sets in the Woman's Final in Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on September 8, 2013. Williams wins her second consecutive U.S. Open Championship by defeating Azarenka 7-5, 6-7, 6-1. 8 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Serena Williams captured her fifth U.S. Open title Sunday, overcoming second-seeded Victoria Azarenka in a hotly contested struggle. Williams outlasted Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 for her 17th Grand Slam title, for the fourth-most in history, one less than Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. After winning the first set, the outcome seemed in doubt when Williams blew a 4-1 lead in the second set, allowing Azarenka to storm back and force a final set after winning a tiebreaker. But in the third, the American star notched a service break for a 3-1 lead, then scored another break and went on to close out her fifth New York title, tying her with Margaret Court and Steffi Graf for the fourth-most all-time. Azarenka, meanwhile, fell in the U.S. Open final for the second straight year and dropped to 3-13 in her career against Williams. Williams racked up her ninth victory of the season, improving to 67-4 overall this year.