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Naomi Osaka staged a brilliant comeback to defeat Victoria Azarenka and win her third Grand Slam title at the US Open.
Azarenka picked up where she left off in her semi-final win over Serena Williams and swept the first set in just 27 minutes.
She was also 2-0 up in the second set and almost in sight of the finish line only for Osaka to dig in, fight the match on her terms and march to a 1-6 6-3 6-3 victory.
The 22-year-old Japanese star becomes the first Asian player to win three Grand Slam titles, surpassing Chinese pioneer Li Na.
Osaka soaked up her triumph by lying on her back on the court, saying afterwards, “I always see everyone collapse after match point. But I always think you can hurt yourself, so I wanted to do it safely.”
Addressing Azarenka at the presentation ceremony, he said: “First of all, I want to congratulate Vika. In fact, I don’t want to play with you in more finals because I really didn’t enjoy that, it was a very difficult match for me.”
When asked how she turned the game around, the 22-year-old added: “I thought it would be very embarrassing to lose in less than an hour, so I have to try to stop having a bad attitude.”
Azarenka, also a runner-up in 2012 and 2013, said: “I thought the third time was a charm, but I think I’ll have to try again. Congratulations to Naomi, it’s been an amazing two weeks for you. I hope you can meet again in a few end more.
“I want to thank all the people who came through such difficult times and made this tournament possible. I am very grateful for this opportunity.
“And I want to thank my team for being with me and believing in me. We’re going to have a little more fun over the next few weeks. It’s been a long road to get here, but it was fun.”
Soaking everything in 🤗 pic.twitter.com/YkAzTD5Mn2
– US Tennis Open (@Usopen) September 12, 2020
Osaka’s first slam title here two years ago felt like something of a side show to the now infamous fight between Serena Williams and referee Carlos Ramos.
She won a second title in a row at the Australian Open last year and became the best player in the world, but Osaka, a shy and quirky character, has admitted that she wasn’t ready to be in that position.
There have been many lows since then, but Osaka now seems ready to embrace her status and the platform it brings.
She has been a strong advocate for Black Lives Matter, inspiring a pause in play at the Western & Southern Open and wearing masks during this tournament with the names of black victims of brutality and violence.
Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy killed by a policeman while playing with a toy gun in 2014, was the name he kept for the final as Osaka’s boyfriend, rapper Cordae, sat in the stands in a T-shirt with the words ‘Withdraw funds from the police’.
Playing for a cause bigger than herself certainly seems to have helped Osaka find perspective on the court, although she was surely anything but calm internally as Azarenka bullied her on the court in the first set.
Azarenka’s resurgence has been the most compelling story of the tournament, as the 31-year-old put her three years of struggling on and off the court behind her to reach her first slam final in seven years.
He had a point to lead 3-0 in the second but couldn’t take it and from there the game changed. Osaka broke the serve and gradually began to take command, imposing his power play on his opponent.
She won four games in a row to clinch the second set and lost just one of the next five, going 0-40 to hold 4-1.
With that, Azarenka’s chance seemed to be gone, but she built a reputation as one of the sport’s most stubborn competitors in her heyday and simply refused to let Osaka break again 5-1.
Suddenly the fourth seeded staggered and they returned to service, but while Azarenka’s heart was still set, her legs were clearly feeling the rhythm and the night belonged to Osaka.
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