Naomi Osaka during her victory at the US Open in New York on September 12, 2020. -
Seth Wenig / AP / SIPA
After Flushing Meadows in 2018 and the Australian Open in 2019, Naomi Osaka won her third grand slam title at the US Open.
The rage to win took precedence over the joy of playing: driven by her commitment to Black Lives Matter, the 22-year-old won at the expense of Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
A championship won on an incredible rally! @Naomiosaka clinches the #USOpen 🏆 in three sets over Victoria Azarenka.
pic.twitter.com/yVVd0Q0mnN
- US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 12, 2020
It was not an easy match for the one who will find third place on Monday in the WTA standings.
“Frankly, I don't want to play more finals against you, it was too hard,” Naomi Osaka said to her opponent upon receiving her trophy.
The two players should have met in the Cincinnati final, just before the start of the US Open, but Osaka withdrew with a left thigh injury.
A very complicated first set
Saturday, led 6-1, 2-0 without having existed, the former world No. 1 suddenly found his game and in particular his service.
And little by little, it was she who got hold of the match.
"I thought it would be quite embarrassing to lose in less than an hour, so I had to really fight and stop having this bad behavior", analyzed the Japanese player.
The game then became one-sided, but in Osaka's favor this time, up to 4-2 for the Japanese in the last set.
At this point, Azarenka jumped back to 4-3.
But Osaka immediately regained the advantage and concluded in stride.
She thus ends a tournament during which she has shown great maturity and revealed part of her character, until then often hidden behind a wall of shyness.
It was during the Cincinnati tournament, played in the bubble of Flushing Meadows, that Naomi Osaka opened up as an activist, and no longer just as a tennis player.
She had decided not to play her semi-final to protest the police firing on African-American Jacob Blake, prompting the organizers' decision to cancel an entire day of the tournament.
Osaka then agreed to play.
Until his thigh prevented him from defending his chances in the final.
Protest masks
At the US Open, she had prepared seven black masks - one per game until the final, each bearing the name of a victim of police violence.
“The goal was to get people talking about these problems,” she commented after her victory.
▪️ Breonna Taylor
▪️ Elijah McClain
▪️ Ahmaud Arbery
▪️ Trayvon Martin
▪️ George Floyd
▪️ Philando Castile
▪️ Tamir Rice
Naomi Osaka made her voice heard on her way to her second #USOpen title.
pic.twitter.com/vRxneG9gr4
- US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 12, 2020
For her part, Azarenka, who had beaten Serena Williams in the semi-finals, was disappointed with her defeat.
It will regain the 14th place in the world on Monday.
“Never two without three, as they say.
I will have to try again… ”, commented the Belarusian, also ex-world No. 1, in reference to her two finals lost at the US Open in 2012 and 2013. She therefore remains with two major titles on the clock: l 'Australian Open in 2012 and 2013. At 31, however, she returns to the highest level after giving birth in 2016 and postponed her return until mid-season 2018 due to a legal battle for custody of her son.
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