The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Williams in meltdown after US Open defeat to rising star.
Williams’ umpire row dominates women’s final won by Japan’s first slam champ
Novak Djokovic moved into joint third on the all-time list of male grand slam singles champions by beating Juan Martin del Potro to win the US Open.
Djokovic is now level with Pete Sampras on 14 titles and, after following up his Wimbledon triumph by making it back-to-back slam successes, is closing in once more on Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
With his two-year physical and mental dip apparently firmly behind him, questions will again be posed as to whether he can catch Nadal on 17 or even Federer’s 20.
After all the drama this tournament has created, capped by Saturday’s extraordinary women’s final, the headlines here were all made for the right reasons as Djokovic triumphed 6-3 7-6 (7/4) 6-3.
Del Potro was the sentimental favourite as he attempted to win a second slam title nine years after his first, having suffered two serious wrist injuries, the second of which he feared would end his career.
But Del Potro needed more than just goodwill to beat Djokovic at his best, he needed his mighty forehand to be flawless and the rest of his game to back it up.
This was not that day, although even at his absolute best he would have struggled to hold off Djokovic on this form.
The Serbian had elbow surgery in February to finally fix a problem that had dogged him for more than a year and found his best form again this summer.
After his win he said: “When I had the surgery on my elbow I could truly understand what Juan Martin was going through. Difficult times but you learn from adversity. You learn when you’re down, when you have doubtful moments. I tried to take the best out of myself in those moments and get myself in this position.”
Del Potro sobbed on his chair before taking to the podium and, addressing his noisy fans, said: “It’s not easy to speak right now but I love you guys.
“I’m so happy to be playing the final against this magnificent idol. Of course I’m sad because I lose but I’m happy for Novak, you deserved to win.”
In the women’s final on Saturday Serena Williams alleged she was the victim of sexism after an extraordinary meltdown during her US Open final defeat to Naomi Osaka.
The headlines were supposed to be about Williams’ bid for a recordequalling 24th Grand Slam title and Osaka trying to become Japan’s first slam winner, but instead an argument with umpire Carlos Ramos that escalated dominated the match.
Williams was furious when she was given a coaching violation early in the second set after a hand gesture from her coach Patrick Mouratoglou, telling Ramos she would rather lose than cheat.
She was then docked a point for a second violation when she smashed her racket. Continuing her argument with Ramos at the next change of ends, Williams accused him of being a thief for taking a point away from her.
Ramos gave her a third violation, which resulted in a game penalty, putting Osaka 5-3 ahead. A tearful Williams argued her case with tournament officials but, although she held serve in the next game, Osaka served out the victory 6-2 6-4.
Williams was fined $17,000 (approximately £13,000) for the offences.