Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka head to US Open final
September 7, 2018
Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam final. She will have to defeat Serena Williams, who will be in the hunt for her 24th title to mark her inspiring return to the court.
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The stage is set for a memorable final, where newcomer Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams will compete for the last Grand Slam trophy of the year. Both women delivered strong performances in Thursday night's semifinals, each winning their matches in two straight sets.
The night started off with Serena Williams, who had the backing of many of the more than 20,000 fans that gathered. In just 66 minutes, Williams overpowered Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia with 6-3 and 6-0 sets, by pressing her in the short game, landing four of the five serve-and-volley shots and serving at a speed of more than 190 kilometers (118 miles) per hour.
"The crowd was so intense and helped me out so much after those first two games," said Williams.
Sevastova, seeded 19th and making her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance, had 17 unforced errors and was never able to battle back against the six-time US Open winner.
Her own mistakes, coupled with not being able to break Williams led to the disappointing result, Sevastova said. "She had better statistics I think, better than me. More winners, less mistakes," the Latvian said. "So she deserves it, yeah."
Of her ticket to the finals, Williams expressed gratitude and said she was satisfied to have made it this far in a tournament that she missed last year, due to the birth of her child.
"It is really incredible, a year ago I was literally fighting for my life at the hospital after having the baby," said Williams. "Every day I step out on this court I am so grateful to have an opportunity to play this sport… So no matter what happens in any match, semis, finals I already feel like I have already won," she added.
Williams will play her second consecutive Grand Slam final this year. A win on Saturday would give the 36-year-old a seventh US Open title, breaking a tie with Chris Evert for the most in the Open era and equaling Australian Margaret Court's all-time Grand Slam record of 24.
Following Williams' triumph, 20-year-old Naomi Osaka prevailed over Madison Keys and made history on the court by becoming the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam final.
The two women had played against each other three times prior to the match, with Keys winning all three matches. But this time, Osaka won with a convincing 6-2, 6-4 win over 14th-seeded Keys, who was the runner up at the 2017 US Open.
Osaka pulled off the win in one hour, 26 minutes with a service winner, and break into a smile as the ball flew off the frame of Keys' racquet and into the crowd.
Keys spoke frankly of the challenge Osaka presented to her. "Every time I had a break point, it was an ace or a winner or something like that," she said. "You keep fighting... You think, okay, she's going to let up eventually, but she didn't, so all credit to her," Keys conceded.
When asked about the spot in the finals, Osaka admitted that Serena's win had motivated her. "This is going to sound really bad, but I was just thinking I really want to play Serena," she said.
"I love you, Serena" she said, before adding "I love you, mom; I love everybody".
Osaka, 20th seed, has faced off against Williams once before, at the Miami Open in March. She defeated the tennis legend in that match, a feat she will try to repeat, but this time with a Grand Slam title on the line.
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.
