US Open 2020: Naomi Osaka beats Victoria Azarenka to win third Grand Slam title.
Naomi Osaka lay down on Arthur Ashe Stadium moments after sealing victory.
Osaka arrived on court wearing a face mask with the name of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old
shot dead by a police officer while he was playing with a toy gun
Naomi Osaka demonstrated her growing maturity to fight back against Victoria Azarenka in
a compelling US Open final and claim her third Grand Slam title.
Japanese fourth seed Osaka, 22, won 1-6 6-3 6-3 for her second US Open title.
Osaka was overwhelmed in the first set and was in danger of trailing 3-0 in the second
before recovering to win 10 of the next 11 games to take momentum.
Belarusian Azarenka, in her first major final since 2013, was broken for 5-3 in the decider
before Osaka served out.
Osaka shrieked with joy as she took her second match point, then calmly lay on the court
and stared at the New York sky as she contemplated her latest achievement.
Osaka's level raised considerably as 31-year-old Azarenka was unable to maintain the intensity
she showed in a one-sided opening set.
The fightback ensured Osaka, who won the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open, maintained
her record of winning every Grand Slam final she has played in.
"I don't want to play you in any more finals, I didn't really enjoy that, it was a really
tough match for me," Osaka jokingly told Azarenka.
"It was really inspiring for me because I used to watch you play here when I was younger.
I learned a lot, so thank you."
Another US Open title for Osaka - but a contrasting occasion
Osaka's maiden victory at Flushing Meadows two years ago came in straight sets against
Serena Williams in a hostile environment following the American's infamous argument with umpire
Carlos Ramos.
It left Osaka in tears as she stood on the podium waiting to collect her first Grand
Slam trophy.
This second success could not have been more different.
Here she had to fight back from a set down against an inspired Azarenka - and navigate
a tricky decider which could have swung either way - on a virtually empty Arthur Ashe Stadium
because of the coronavirus pandemic.
And even in what were still strange circumstances, Osaka could this time enjoy the moment with
a beaming smile as she lifted the prize in the company of her team and rapper boyfriend
Cordae - even if she'd had to take the trophy from the table herself rather than be presented
with it because of social distancing rules.
Osaka looked a little lost as Azarenka overwhelmed her in a fast start, hitting 13 unforced errors
and struggling to cope with the Belarusian's proactive play and controlled aggression.
Draping a towel over her head at changeovers was a sign of Osaka's concerns.
Her attempts to collect her thoughts and regain her composure did not initially work, however.
Another wayward forehand prompted a frustrated Osaka to throw her racquet to the floor in
disgust.
Eventually, though, the mental resilience which she says she has developed over recent
months came to the fore.
"I just thought it would be embarrassing to lose this under an hour," said Osaka, who
will rise to third in the world after her win.
That resulted in a major momentum shift in her favour as Azarenka threatened to move
3-0 ahead in the second set.
A rasping forehand by Osaka proved pivotal, not only in the game, but ultimately in the
whole match as she seized control to level.
The former world number one maintained that level in the decider to earn a 4-1 lead, but
was unable to convert one of three break points to move 5-1 ahead.
That might have proved costly when Azarenka immediately put the set back on serve, only
for Osaka to battle back again by winning what proved to be the final two games.
Osaka gets the world talking Not only has Osaka impressed on court during
the Cincinnati Masters-US Open bubble in the past month, she has also won many admirers
for her activism in the fight against racism and police brutality in the United States.
A few days before the start of the US Open, Osaka pulled out of her Western and Southern
Open semi-final in protest at the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, by police in
Wisconsin.
Before her US Open first-round match, she wore a face mask with the name of Breonna
Taylor, a black woman who was shot dead by a policeman in March.
Osaka, who has Japanese and Haitian parents, and was brought up in the United States, said
she had seven masks with seven different names.
Azarenka, who made just three unforced errors in a brilliant first set, also lost in the
2012 and 2013 finals to Serena Williams.
Her target was to reveal all of them by reaching Saturday's final and that provided her with
extra motivation to win the title, according to her coach Wim Fissette.
"I felt the point was to make people start talking," Osaka said after her victory.
"I've been inside the bubble and not sure what's going on in the outside world.
The more retweets it gets, the more people talk about it."
Azarenka wins hearts but falls short of another Slam
Former world number one Azarenka was aiming to complete a remarkable renaissance by landing
her first Grand Slam title since defending her Australian Open crown in 2013.
Few had predicted she would compete for the sport's biggest prizes again after a turbulent
previous few years.
Azarenka took time away from the sport to give birth in December 2016 and had her comeback
stalled by a lengthy custody battle over son Leo.
Last week she admitted she had thought about quitting when the WTA Tour was suspended because
of the coronavirus pandemic.
She had won only one match in the previous year going into last month's restart, but
came back from the enforced break reinvigorated and possessing a fresh perceptive on life
That enabled her to win a first WTA title in four years when Osaka pulled out of their
scheduled Western & Southern Open final with a hamstring injury - and she continued her
form in the Grand Slam.
Ultimately though, she could not become the fourth mother to win a major title as Osaka
consigned her to a third defeat in a US Open final.
[News from BBC Sports]
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