Calamity-hit Japan hails Osaka
Six-time US Open champion has been embroiled in her share of controversies at the Flushing Meadows. Here’s a look at her verbal volleys.
SEMIFINAL AGAINST KIM CLIJSTERS
Serena received a warning for racquet abuse. She was called for a foot fault, giving Clijsters double match point. Serena argued briefly, then directed a venomous rant at the offending lineswoman including a threat to “shove this ball down your throat.” The chair umpire assessed a point penalty for the outburst — giving Clijsters the match.
FINAL VS SAMANTHA STOSUR
In the 2011 US Open final, chair umpire Eva Asderaki warned Williams for hindering opponent Stosur for shouting “come on” before the Australian had reached the ball. An angry Serena — who confused Asderaki with the umpire who was in the chair for the 2009 Clijsters match — verbally attacked her during the changeover.
“If you ever see me walking down the hall, look the other way,” she said.
“Because you’re out of control. You’re out of control. Totally out of control. You’re a hater and you’re just ... unattractive inside. Who would do such a thing? And I never complain. Wow. What a loser. You give a code violation because I expressed who I am? We’re in America last I checked.” TOKYO: Japan on Sunday hailed Naomi Osaka’s stunning upset against the legendary Serena Williams to win the US Open, giving the nation some rare good news after a summer of deadly natural disasters.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led the praise, taking to Twitter to congratulate Osaka after her 6-2, 6-4 win in New York.
“Congratulations on your victory at the US Open. The first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam title. Thank you for giving energy and inspiration to the whole of Japan,” the premier tweeted. Abe was on his way to the northern island of Hokkaido where a massive earthquake last week sparked landslides that buried houses in a rural town, killing at least 35 people and injuring hundreds of others.
Osaka’s grandfather Tetsuo Osaka, 73, lives in Hokkaido and said he wept watching his granddaughter on television.
“It still hasn’t sunk in for me yet. The moment she won, my wife and I rejoiced together. I was so happy, I cried,” he told public broadcaster NHK. -- On her father Leonard’s habit of not watching his daughter play, opting instead to take a stroll around the grounds. - On plans to celebrate on Saturday night
“I hope she stays healthy and continues her good work. I also hope she wins at the Tokyo Olympics (in 2020),” he said.
Fellow tennis star Kei Nishikori flooded Twitter with emojis of trophies, thumbs up and Japanese flags, followed by a simple tweet of “proud” alongside a Japanese flag.
And Tsuyoshi Fukui, a former top Japanese player and now senior official at the Japanese Tennis Association, said Osaka’s performance would help to cheer the country up after typhoons, floods
On Serena’s meltdown and earthquakes dominated the headlines this summer.
Osaka’s “tenacious and patient performance ... must have been a great show of encouragement to those Japanese people who saw damage from such things as typhoons and earthquakes,” Fukui told Japanese media.
Osaka has dual Japaneseamerican citizenship and often replies to questions from Japan’s media in English, apologising for not knowing the appropriate word when she speaks Japanese.