US Open: Naomi Osaka defeats Serena Williams in final
Jane Mcintosh
September 9, 2018
Naomi Osaka was a few months old when Serena Williams won her first major title. Playing her 31st career Grand Slam final, Williams couldn't overcome a controversial umpire call to defeat her 20-year-old rival.
Image: Reuters/R. Deutsch
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In a dramatic — but short — women's final on Saturday night, 20-year-old Naomi Osaka from Japan won her first Grand Slam title against her idol Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and half. She is the first player from her country to win a Grand Slam title.
Half an hour into the match, Osaka served for the first set at 5-2. She broke Serena Williams' serve twice and showed no signs of nerves as she out-hit the 36-year-old, taking the first set with a 117 mile per hour (188 kilometer per hour) delivery.
Osaka's coach, Sascha Bajin, was Williams' hitting partner for many years and his knowledge was evident, although Williams came into the final evidently a little flat, and not serving as well as she had done in previous rounds.
Serena Williams was playing in her 31st Grand Slam finalImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Kudacki
Code violations
Early in the second set, Williams received a code violation for a hand signal from her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.
She took up the issue with the chair umpire, saying she understood why he took the action after seeing a thumbs-up from the coach, but the American, playing her 31st Grand Slam final, said firmly: "I don't cheat to win, I'd rather lose."
Williams faced another break point at 1-1 in the second set. But an extraordinary drop shot off a full-powered ground stroke from Osaka helped her fend off the attack and she held for a key 2-1 lead.
Osaka outplayed her idol to win her first US Open titleImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Hunger
Osaka matched Williams for serve speed, sending down deliveries at 115 mph.
Williams smashed her racket to the ground when she lost her serve, after breaking Osaka's serve. That meant she went into the following game with a point-penalty, 0-15. Osaka moved quickly to 40-0 and took the game to level at 3-3, then broke Williams' serve to go ahead 4-3.
"You owe me an apology," Williams told the umpire. "I have never cheated in my life!"
Williams then called the umpire a thief for refusing to apologize over the coaching violation. He then defaulted her a game. The tournament referee was called but the decision was upheld and Williams, crying, had to go out to serve at 3-5 down. She broke back to 4-5 but ended the game towards the tunnel, telling the WTA supervisor, "this is not fair."
Osaka finished the match by holding her serve, having outplayed Williams and completed a fine set of wins over the two-week tournament.
Elegance in defeat and victory
After the match, Williams waited on court for the presentation ceremony.
As she received her runner-up plate, Williams asked the crowd to stop booing and complimented Osaka on her win.
"She played well ... This is her first Grand Slam," Williams said. "I know you guys were here rooting, but let's make this the best moment we can. Let's give everyone the credit where credit is due. Let's not boo any more. Congratulations Naomi."
Osaka was visibly upset: "I know everyone was cheering for her and I'm sorry it had to end like this," she told the crowd.
"It was always my dream to play Serena in the US Open finals," she said. "I'm really grateful I was able to play with you," she told Williams. "Thank you."
Emotional response
The Japanese player was offered advice from all-time champion Billie Jean King after admitting she had been teased for an emotional reaction to winning her match to reach the quarterfinals: "I didn't celebrate because the other time I cried a little bit and people made fun of me, so I thought I'd go straight to the net," said Osaka.
Osaka was a spectator as Williams held her battle with the umpire and referees over the code violations. She held her nerve to keep her game going, and take the match.
Sauna court
The final was played with the stadium roof closed. Many of the other players have commented that there is a lack of air circulation, especially at court level, with an atmosphere similar to a sauna.
After a match earlier in the week, finalist Novak Djokovic said, "I have never sweated as much as I have here."
"I have to take at least 10 shirts for every match. I asked the chair umpire whether they are using some form of ventilation or air conditioning down at the court level, and then he says 'Only what comes through the hallway.' This tournament needs to address this. Because whether it's night or day, we just don't have air down there. It feels like a sauna."
US Open: The big one in the Big Apple
"If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere," as Frank Sinatra once put it. This statement could just as easily be applied to the loudest, most demanding tennis tournament in the world, the US Open.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Samad
The sky is the limit
Nowak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka battled it out on in the men's final on Center Court in 2016. This photo gives you a rough impression of the view you would have had if you had managed to get yourself a ticket for a seat in the nosebleeds. Wawrinka would go on to win this duel.
Image: Getty Images/A. Bello
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe used a wooden racket when he played in the Forest Hills stadium in Queens, New York in 1965. In 1978, the tournament moved to its larger site at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. The main court, which holds more than 22,000 spectators, is named after Athur Ashe.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Pete could do with a bucket...
The matches can be long and the weather is usually hot and humid. This can take a toll on the players. In 1996, a few minutes after this picture was shot, the great Pete Sampras actually threw up on the court during his match against Alex Corretja. We could have shown you that, but you didn’t really want to see it, did you?
Image: Getty Images/S. Botterill
Quiet please!
If you are looking for a quiet game of tennis, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is not the place for you! It happens to be located close to LaGuardia Airport. If you don’t like the noise you can complain, but making yourself heard could pose a problem...
Image: imago/UPI Photo
When Serena was still a bad girl
"Foot fault," cried the woman on the chair during this 2009 match. Serena Williams was having nothing of it and did her best to make this clear. The line judge jumped out of her chair and…
Image: Getty Images/J. Finney
"I didn't say that!"
…ran to the net and told the match referee, who called the head referee. He ordered Williams’ semifinal match against Kim Clijsters abandoned and awarded it to the Belgian. It was widely reported that Williams had threatened to shove a tennis ball down the line judge’s throat, something that the American denied having said.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T.A. Clary
Cramp-plagued Marcos Baghdatis
IN 2006, Marcos Baghdatis struggled through a his match against Andre Agassi. Plagued by cramps, he struggled to complete its. Baghdatis is still on the tour, Agassi, of course, retired years ago.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Emmert
Andre's second-last match
The match, in which Baghdatis wound up unable to run around the court was the second last in the career of Andre Agassi in New York. The crowd gave both men a standing ovation after Agassi won 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5. In his 2010 autobiography "Open," Agassi described his pain both on and off the tennis court.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Emmert
Stefanie Graf's backhand
Stefanie Graf rarely made mistakes with her backhand but her forehand was even better. In 1988 she faced Argentina’s Gabriela Sabatini in the US Open final and won 6-3, 3-6, and 6-1. Sabatini went on to have her own line of perfume, but Graf became a legend, helping, along with Boris Becker, to spark a tennis boom in Germany.
Image: Getty Images
A happy Angie Kerber
It would take until 2016 for another German to win at Flushing Meadows. This photo is from September 11, 2016, a day after Angelique Kerber had beaten Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the final. Since then, things haven't gone her way. Kerber lost her No. 1 spot in the women's rankings - despite the absence of Serena Williams.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Cj Gunther
Can't forget Jimmy
How could we forget this guy? He was in his prime when US men’s tennis was still powerful and nobody had heard of John McEnroe yet. Jimmy Connors, in this picture no longer using his old metal racket, won the US Open five times. His two-handed backhanders changed the men’s game.
Image: Getty Images/V
Boris won here too...
Here’s another guy we can’t forget. This is Boris Becker after beating Ivan Lendl 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the 1989 final. The often ill-tempered Lendl went on to become a cool golfer and even cooler coach. Becker is still his happy-go-lucky self. Last year he was appointed the "head of men’s tennis" by the German Tennis Association (DTB).
Image: Imago/Norbert Schmidt
Legendary support
Alexander Zverev (above left) is still looking for his first Grand Slam and he has enlisted former Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl (right) to help him refine his game. The men's No. 4 failed to make it past the second round in his two previous appearances at the US Open. The 21-year-old German is hoping that Lendl's tactical knowledge will help carry him much deeper in 2018.
