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“It would have been embarrassing to lose in an hour”
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Photo: Frank Franklin II / TT NEWS AGENCY
Naomi Osaka, 22, has done it again.
She won the US Open, after a powerful twist against Victoria Azarenka, 31.
– A cruel ending, says Swedish icon Mats Wilander on Eurosport.
It was Azarenka who started the US Open final the best. In the first set, he was totally superior and knocked his opponent off the court. The Belarusian won that set with the crushing numbers 6-1.
– This is like rewinding the band to the 2012 and 2013 seasons, said Maria Strandlund Tomsvik, Eurosport expert.
It was then, in 2012 and 2013, that Azarenka was in her prime and won her two Grand Slam titles. On Saturday night, it looked like she was addressing a third party. But Naomi Osaka had other plans.
“Be an honor”
He climbed several levels, won the second set 6-3 and then secured the title by winning the decisive third with the same numbers.
– It was an honor to meet Victoria in the final. I remember watching his US Open games when I was little, Osaka says in his thank you speech.
– I want to thank my team and everyone at home. My mother, my father and my sister. Without you, I would not be here today, continue.
Photo: Seth Wenig / TT NEWS AGENCY
The 22-year-old admits she flinched after the first set.
– I thought it would have been embarrassing to lose a Grand Slam final in less than an hour …, says Osaka.
Instead, he turned around and won.
First in 26 years
It had only happened seven times in the open era (since 1968) that someone turned a 0-1 deficit in sets into a victory in the women’s side of the US Open final. The last time this happened was 26 years ago, in 1994.
Now it has happened again.
Osaka can also be pleased with a massive $ 3 million price check (approximately 26 million kronor). So it adds to your already large bank account. Osaka is already the highest paid athlete in the world on the female side. Last year, she withdrew 360 million SEK, which according to Forbes is the highest annual salary for a female athlete.
This was his third Grand Slam title of his career. She got her first at the US Open 2018, the second came at the Australian Open 2019.
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