Naomi Osaka became Japan’s first ever Grand Slam champion after she
thumped Serena Williams 6-2 6-4 in a controversial U.S. Open final on
Saturday, with the American suffering a meltdown after she was handed a
code violation for on-court coaching.
With Osaka in control of the match after taking the first set,
Portuguese chair umpire Carlos Ramos sent Williams into a rage when he
handed the 23-time Grand Slam champion a code violation in the second
game of the second set after he spotted Williams’ coach Patrick
Mouratoglou making some hand signals from the player’s box.
A string of bad behavior followed from Williams and she went on to
incur a point penalty for smashing her racket before being slapped with a
game penalty at 4-3 down after she launched into a verbal attack
against Ramos, accusing him of being “a liar” and “a thief for stealing a
point from me”. Williams rant continued throughout the second set as she got more and more incensed with things going against her
The game penalty put Osaka 5-3 up and the 20-year-old Japanese kept her cool to pull off a historic win.
That coaching warning ignited the first outburst from Williams, who
screamed at Ramos that she was a mother and would never cheat, adding
that she would rather lose.
Order seemed to be restored when Williams finally broke Osaka for the
first time to go up 3-1 but things quickly slid out of control when the
Japanese 20th seed broke back, prompting the former world number one to
smash her racket and Ramos to issue the point penalty.
That brought another tirade from Williams which was followed by a
game penalty, bringing a shower of jeers from the packed stadium and
another explosive outburst from the teary American. Osaka lowered her capNaomi Osaka wins the US Open in straight sets after beating Serena Williams 6-2 6-4 at Flushing Meadows
Later Mouratoglou admitted he had been trying to coach Williams from
the stands with some hand signals but accused Osaka’s coach Sascha Bajin
of doing the same. Naomi Osaka wins the US Open in straight sets after beating Serena Williams 6-2 6-4 at Flushing Meadows
“I am honest. I was coaching,” said Mouratoglou. “I don’t think she looked one time.
“Sascha was coaching every point too.”
The controversial finish cast a cloud over what should have been Osaka’s shining moment.
“I know everyone was cheering for her and I’m sorry it had to end
like this,” said Osaka. “I just want to say thank you for watching the
match.
“It was always my dream to play Serena in the U.S. Open finals… I’m really grateful I was able to play with you.”
The result prevented Williams from winning a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam title.
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