Naomi Osaka defeats Serena Williams to Claim U.S. Open Title

Naomi Osaka defeats Serena Williams to Claim U.S. Open Title

20-year-old Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams in straight sets Saturday afternoon to win her first Grand Slam Title.

Osaka dominated in the first set winning 6-2 and finished Williams off in the second set 6-4. She became the first Haitian-Japanese player to win a major title.

Your 2018 #USOpen champion…@Naomi_Osaka_ ?? pic.twitter.com/yAPFaezBpz

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2018

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The championship match was overshadowed by the controversial dispute Williams had with umpire Carlos Ramos. Ramos handed Williams three code of conducts, resulting in a game penalty.

In the second set, Williams received a coaching violation from Ramos. Patrick Mouratoglou made a gesture that Ramos deemed coaching from the stands. Apparently, he was telling Serena to play closer in. Serena quickly disputed this and explained it was only a thumbs up. That she would rather lose than to cheat.

Serena Williams argues with Chair Umpire Carlos Ramos while playing Naomi Osaka during their 2018 U.S. Open women’s singles final match on Saturday. Osaka, 20, triumphed 6-2, 6-4 in the match. -MPR News

Her second penalty came when she smashed her tennis racquet after a misplayed backhand. This gave Osaka a 15-0 point advantage for the start of the next game automatically. Again, Serena approached Ramos and called him a thief. Check out the full quote below:

“You owe me an apology,” she said. “I have never cheated in my life. I have a daughter and I stand for what’s right for her. I’ve never cheated, and you owe me an apology. You will never do another one of my matches.”

“And you stole a point from me,” she said. “You’re a thief.”

A third violation was given out which resulted in a full game penalty. Osaka went up 5-3 in the second set after that. Williams won the next game, but couldn’t finish the comeback as Osaka claimed the victory 6-4.

During the US Open trophy ceremony, Osaka was full of emotion as the boos outpoured from the crowd. Around the 25 second mark, you can see Osaka start to tear up a little. Serena was quick to come to her side and defend her first major win.

ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi led the presentation and asked Williams questions first. She replied,

“I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t want to interrupt. I don’t want to do questions,” Williams said, refusing to answer his question. “I just want to tell you guys, [Osaka] played well. This is her first Grand Slam.

 

“I know you guys were here rooting and I was rooting too, but let’s make this the best moment we can and we’ll get through it. But let’s give everyone the credit where credit is due and let’s not boo anymore. We’re going to get through this and let’s be positive. Congratulations Naomi. No more booing.” – Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

Rinaldi then turned to Osaka. She didn’t have anything to say about the situation that occurred. Osaka instead said:

“I know that everyone was cheering for her, and I’m sorry it had to end like this,” Osaka said during the presentation. “I just want to say thank you for watching the match. Thank you.”

“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,” Osaka said.

“I’m really glad I was able to play with you,” Osaka then said directly to Williams. “Thank you.” – Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

Expect to see more greatness from this 20-year-old in her career. Take a look at both competitors career stats below.

Sources

Deadspin 

Yahoo Sports 

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