Serena Williams vs Naomi Osaka (2-6, 4-6)
Naomi Osaka made history in the US Open 2018 as the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam title, but her victory was overshadowed by the controversial argument between Serena Williams and chair umpire Carlos Ramos.
Osaka played well—clearly outclassing Williams in all areas—and deserved to take her first major title. However, while it should have been a worthy cause for celebration for one of the brightest young talents of women’s tennis, the 20-year-old Osaka instead received boos from a largely partisan crowd who thought that Williams was unfairly treated throughout the finale.
Highlights of the game
Heading into the US Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Osaka had never been in a Grand Slam title fight. In fact, she hasn’t even reached a quarter-final of a major tournament before the competition.
Not to mention that prior to her matchup with Serena, Osaka admitted that she grew up idolising the 23-time Grand Slam winner.
Despite that, however, the Japanese-born youngster didn’t show any sign of fear and nervousness, playing with great composure and maturity to fend off the former World No.1.
Much like in her previous two matches, Williams got off to a slow start and found herself in trouble, with Osaka quickly pouncing and taking advantage of Serena’s struggles.
Osaka used her incredible power and solid return game to edge Williams in the opening set, going 4-1 up behind two breaks of service. At one point in the opener, Williams got out to a 30-0 lead at 1-3, but Osaka battled back to extend her lead.
Despite the multiple break point opportunities for Williams on the ensuing serves, the 20-year-old rising star held on and served out to take a set lead.
It was in the second set that things took a turn for the worse for Serena and her camp. In the second game of the set, chair umpire Ramos caught Serena’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, making a hand gesture—seemingly instructing Serena to move forward.
Ramos issued a warning to Serena as coaching or communicating of any kind between a player and a coach is banned in the Grand Slams.
That started the argument between the two, with Serena telling Ramos that she doesn’t cheat and she would “rather lose” than cheating. For what it’s worth, Mouratoglou later admitted that he was indeed coaching.
The said incident was the precursor to Williams’ series of outburst that led to her losing a point and then a game.
Williams was ahead 3-1 in the second, but the still frustrated star wasn’t able to control her emotions when she double-faulted and gave up the lead in the fifth game of the set. She smashed her racket into the ground, prompting Ramos to give her another code violation and a point penalty.
That took the wind out of Serena’s sails, eventually finding herself down by a game. The frustration caused by the penalties and, perhaps, losing her lead pushed Williams to confront the chair umpire once again—calling him a “thief” and demanding an apology.
Ramos penalised Williams for verbal abuse, which meant a game penalty, awarding Osaka the eighth game for a 5-3 lead. Serena won the ninth game but Osaka stayed composed and steady while serving for the title in the 10th and final game.
It should have been a magic moment for Osaka after her victory, but the event that ended up making the headlines of the US Open 2018 news was the crowd booing during the awarding ceremony. Though it’s unclear if they are booing Osaka, the tournament organisers or the officials.
Despite losing the #USOpen to Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams admits that she felt bad for the 20-year-old Japanese.
“I felt like, ‘Wow, this isn’t how I felt when I won my first Grand Slam’. I was like, ‘Wow, I definitely don’t want her to feel like that’.” pic.twitter.com/y1c0Z8U8WP
— SBOBET (@SBOBET) September 9, 2018
Key statistics
Osaka was the better player in the final, plain and simple. While the US Open 2018 odds at SBOBET favoured Serena to take home her 24th Grand Slam, her performance in the final was clearly not enough for the title.
Williams ended up making six double faults to Osaka’s one, with the latter also making six service aces—three more than Serena’s.
Osaka, who is the first ever Japanese man or woman to win a tennis major singles title, is now 2-0 against one of the most successful female players in the sport. Her previous win against Serena also came this year, at the Miami Open.
Williams has been impressive as well since her return, though she would certainly rue the fact that this is the second Grand Slam she failed to win this 2018 after losing to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final two months ago.
What’s next?
It remains to be seen where the two players will play next following this final. Osaka is well in contention for a spot in the WTA Race to Singapore, and she further boosted her chances of making it to the year-end affair with her Grand Slam victory.
For Serena, meanwhile, she could be in for further punishment and possibly a hefty fine, with the WTA issuing a statement that they will be looking into the incident.
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