Resilient Osaka wins second US Open title
Azarenka denied again
NEW YORK, Sept 13, (AP): After one errant forehand in the first set of the US Open final, Naomi Osaka looked at her coach in the mostly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium stands with palms up.
In response to another wayward forehand against Victoria Azarenka seconds later, Osaka chucked her racket. It spun a bit and rattled against the court.
Surprisingly off-kilter in the early going Saturday, Osaka kept missing shots and digging herself a deficit. Until, suddenly, she lifted her game, and Azarenka couldn’t sustain her start. By the end, Osaka pulled away to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback victory for her second US Open championship and third Grand Slam title overall.
It worked. A quarter-century had passed since a woman who lost the first set of a US Open final wound up winning: In 1994, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario did it against Steffi Graf.
Osaka, a 22-year-old born in Japan and now based in the United States, arrived for Saturday’s match wearing a mask with the name of Tamir Rice, a Black 12-year-old boy killed by police in Ohio in 2014. Calling attention to racial injustice, Osaka honored other Black victims of violence throughout the US Open with masks honoring Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Philando Castile.
Last month, Osaka refused to compete after the police shooting of a
Black man, Jacob Blake, in Wisconsin - she said she would withdraw from her semifinal at the Western & Southern Open, although decided to play after the tournament took a full day off in solidarity.
Osaka and her coach, Wim Fissette – who used to work with Azarenka – have said they think the off-court activism has helped her energy and mindset in matches.
So perhaps it was no coincidence that this win over Azarenka, a 31-year-old
TENNIS
from Belarus also seeking a third Grand Slam title but first in 7½ years, made Osaka 11-0 since tennis resumed after its hiatus because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Osaka added to her trophies from the 2018 US Open – earned with a brilliant performance in a memorably chaotic and controversial final against Serena Williams – and 2019 Australian Open.
Azarenka carried an 11-match winning streak of her own into Saturday, including a stirring three-set victory over Williams in the semifinals Thursday, stopping the American’s bid for a 24th Grand Slam singles title.