South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Serena loses cool, chance at record
NEW YORK — Naomi Osaka defeated her hero Serena Williams, 6-2. 6-4, to win the U.S. Open on Saturday, the first major title of the 20-year-old’s career. But it was not the fairy-tale moment Osaka had worked toward.
Williams, attempting to tie the record with her 24th Grand Slam title, was levied a game penalty in the second set during a shocking display of anger directed at the match’s umpire.
Emotion first bubbled up at 1-1 in the second set, when Williams exchanged words with chair umpire Carlos Ramos. Ramos had assessed Williams a coaching violation after her longtime coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, motioned from the player’s box that Williams should go to the net more often. Williams, 36, disputed the violation and then told Ramos that she is not a cheater.
Williams was apparently under the impression that Ramos had taken back the violation, but he had not.
The six-time U.S. Open champion received another code violation four games later, leading 3-2 in the second set. Osaka had just broken her serve, and Williams smashed her racket into the court so hard that it broke. Ramos assessed her a point penalty, as
under WTA and Grand Slam rules it was the second code violation of the match.
Williams and Osaka played two more games, then during the changeover with Osaka leading 4-3, Williams spoke with Ramos again, demanding an apology for “stealing” a point from her.
“You owe me an apology,” Williams said. “I have never cheated in my life.”
She called Ramos a thief, and he assessed her a third code violation for verbal abuse, resulting in a game penalty that put Osaka up 5-3 and one game from the championship.
In response, Williams grew more emotional and said she was being treated differently from male players who, she argued, get away with much harsher language and behavior on court.
Osaka won the match quickly after that, a bittersweet ending to a battle she had been fighting admirably against her idol. Osaka, especially in the first set, hit harder and bigger against Williams, showing off stellar defense and a steely mind-set in the face of a star-studded crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium that was wholly against her.
Williams was attempting to win her 24th Grand Slam title to tie the record set 45 years ago to the day by Margaret Court at the U.S. Open. In another bit of coincidence, Sept. 8 was also the day Althea Gibson became the first black player to win the singles title at the tournament’s predecessor, the U.S. Championships, in 1957.
Williams, 36, was also trying to break Chris Evert’s record of six U.S. Open singles titles.
She went for the record with experience behind her — and her 1- year-old daughter in tow. Williams played her 31st career Grand Slam final Sunday and her ninth at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Osaka, 20, was making her debut in a Grand Slam final. Not since 18-year-old Monica Seles defeated 35-year-old Martina Navratilova in the 1991 U.S. Open final has there been such an age gap between finalists.
Osaka, who is of Haitian-Japanese ancestry and was raised in the United States but plays for Japan, had before never made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam. She was the youngest woman to reach the final at Flushing Meadows since Caroline Wozniacki did it as a 19-year-old in 2009.
The post-match ceremony was the most uncomfortable in memory at the U.S. Open. Williams held her face in a forced, closed-lipped smile as tears ran down Osaka’s cheeks while U.S. Tennis Association President Katrina Adams spoke.
“Naomi, welcome to the big stage. Serena, welcome back,” Adams said as the crowd booed loudly. “Perhaps it’s not the finish that we were looking for today but Serena, you are the champion of all champions. This mama is a role model, and respected by all.”
Williams hugged Osaka and tried to comfort her during the speeches. ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi was left to the post-match interviews and Williams respectfully declined to answer.
“I don’t want to be rude, I don’t want to do questions, but this was her first Grand Slam,” Williams said through tears. “Um, I know you guys were here rooting and I was rooting, too, but let’s make this the best moment we can, we’ll get through it . . . Let’s not boo anymore. Let’s get through this.
“I hope to continue to go and play here again, we’ll see. It’s been tough here for me. Thank you so much.”
Osaka gave a brief nod as the crowd cheered for her for the first time all night. The first-time Grand Slam finalist had been icy and focused throughout the match, but in front of the crowd, she melted. Her voice was shaky when she thanked her mother and the crowd.
“I know that everyone was cheering for her and I’m sorry it had to end like this. I just want to say thank you for watching the match,” Osaka said. “It was always my dream to play Serena in the U.S. Open finals so I’m really glad I was able to do that. Thank you.”