Serena Williams is in her best form since giving birth to her first child last summer. Naomi Osaka is in her best form since she won the Indian Wells title and then beat none other than Serena in Miami. The result should be a high-quality U.S. Open title match on Saturday.
Serena was the first to book her spot in the final on Friday evening, when she made routine 6-3, 6-0 work of Anastasija Sevastova. Osaka followed with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys.
“It is remarkable,” Serena said of her comeback, which now features back-to-back Grand Slam final appearances (lost to Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon). “I couldn’t have predicted this at all. (I’ve) just been working really hard.
“This is just the beginning of my return. I’m still on the way up; there’s still much more that I plan on doing. You don’t reach your best a couple months in. That’s kind of where I am now. I just feel like there’s a lot of growth to still go in my game. That’s actually the most exciting part.”
If the former world No. 1 gets even better on Saturday, that will be bad news for Osaka. Either way, however, it will be an amazing experience for the 20-year-old from Japan. She grew up idolizing Serena and even stunned the 23-time major champion 6-3, 6-2 in the Miami opening round following her title at the Indian Wells Masters.
Unsurprisingly, Osaka had only good things to say about Serena after she beat Keys on Thursday night.
“When you just come back and then you make the finals of two slams, I think that’s really amazing,” the world No. 19 praised. “I’m sure that everyone knows that Serena’s really good, of course. But I really feel like I don’t want to overthink this match, so I’m not going to think that she’s so much better than she was in Miami. I’m just going to go out there and play. Since I already know she’s a good player, I don’t want to be surprised if she plays better or not.”
“It feels a little bit surreal,” Osaka admitted. “Even when I was a little kid, I always dreamed that I would play Serena in a final of a Grand Slam. Just the fact that it’s happening, I’m very happy about it. At the same time I feel like even though I should enjoy this moment, I should still think of it as another match. Yeah, I shouldn’t really think of her as my idol; I should just try to play her as an opponent.”
So far only Kaia Kanepi has come close to challenging Serena through two weeks in New York (the Estonian succumbed 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 during fourth-round action. Osaka, meanwhile, has survived one three-setter of her own (against Aryna Sabalenka, also in round four) while otherwise cruising into the final.
With Serena close to her best and the enormity of the occasion in front of Osaka, this is the American’s title to win or lose.
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WWW?
Serena just playing great….in 2.
I like them both. I’m hoping Serena gets closer to 25 Slams, but I find Naomi refreshing. Her interviews make me laugh. May the better player win! I’ll be happy either way.
osaka in 3 for GS#1
Bravo! Go Osaka! Brilliant play so far from the young Japanese!
Serena breaks
Big congrats to Osaka with her first slam. What a weird finale. Serena was not playing very well, and on top of that alot of drama with the umpire, a point penalty and a VERY important game penalty. Wow.
Way to go, Osaka! Well deserved win! Too bad this fight of Serena with Carlos Ramos ruins her celebration! So unfair to Osaka, she should be honored and admired for making history…she was a better player out there and deserves to be happy not sad as she looks…I feel sorry for her…
Serena should know the rules! Her outbursts are disgraceful…
The crowd during the ceremony is so unfair! Shame on them!!! Poor Osaka is crying now…this is heartbreaking…
That was the worst umpiring decision I have ever seen. I think Serena is absolutely right that the men routinely do worse and don’t receive penalities, much less a game penalty, which I have never seen.
Nevertheless, Nats is right that this is unfair to Osaka, who played a great match and was the better player. I feel so sorry for her, looking like she lost instead of won. She deserves better from the crowd.
Patrick clearly made a signal to step forward into the court. ThAt was not a thumbs up sign. Maybe Serena did not look his way but Patrick clearly made a sign. Serena took it too far demanding an apology , calling it character assassination , calling umpire a thief . The way she spoke with the umpire was disgraceful .Playing the woman card was just crossing all limits …
yeah, the coaching was harsh
everything else was fully deserved
No. The game for a thief in that situation was more than harsh.
As for coaching? Lahyani was much worse.
And the men get away with far worse.
Djoko changed his shirt out of the chair last night. Nothing.
Happy for Osaka. We need new talent.USO crowd has to grow up too.
However the game penalty was way way too harsh. Not in a grand slam final. He just went by the book but it was a stretch.
Can’t give a game penalty in the USO final on serve at 4-3. Maybe if she was leading 4-0, but not with the score what it was.
That said, absolutely agree that the way Serena spoke to the ump was totally uncalled for. She’s old enough that she should know when to leave it alone and concentrate on the match. Reminded me of her outburst against Clijsters a few years ago. She’s just entitled.
Still, if we’re going by the book, then I’m sure we would have seen game penalties many, many times. What Serena did was no worse than what we see fairly regularly. Especially in a GS final, there should be some discretion.
It’s the rules man…. #CongratsOsaka
Patrick Mouratoglou officially admits on ESPN he was couching Serena! Fair enough! Now Serena should apologize to Carlos Ramos!
Serena’s coach also said that Osaka’s coach was doing it, too. He even brought Rafa and Uncle Toni into it, saying that he was coaching Rafa all the time. I did not think that was necessary.
So, now he is additionally embarrassed himself! It was all his fault in the first place! He wouldn’t help her anyway, the coaching was totally unnecessary!
And by bringing up Rafa and Uncle T he hits the bottom! Serena will be furious…I think she is better than this!
good interview
no. he doesn’t have to call it just because it’s happening.
I just think this whole thing was so unfortunate. Serena took the coaching violation too personally. Her coach did motion her to move forward, but it appears she did not see it. It doesn’t make her a cheater. She let it get under her skin. Then when she was broken back and smashed her racket, another code violation.
I thought she needed to let it go with the chair umpire. She just went on and on, demanding that he apologize. You have to just go out there and play. But I don’t think the chair umpire should have taken away a game. You never want to influence the outcome of a slam final.
I do think Naomi played very well and deserved to win. She should not have had to put up with the booing. At least Serena spine up and got them to stop. I don’t think the crowd knew what happened.
This young woman deserves her moment in the spotlight.
Serena SPOKE up!!*
Really nats he said that…God where does that leave Serena…why on earth will he admit it even if he did it knowing what happened
Sanju, he also said that he believed Serena did not see it! But on Eurosport the channel at which I was watching the match they repeated it a few times showing Serena looking at her box and him coaching her to step inside the court.., I don’t know but I feel badly about Osaka! Serena will survive, althoug I think she should be fined for her disrespectful behavior towards Ramos…but poor Osaka will always remember this controversy instead of just being proud of herself…
And the rules must be followed! Under the rules the player who insults the umpire the way Serena did loses a game! Carlos did nothing wrong! Serena should have controlled her temper!
I think Serena was not even aware that he was signalling something.
she was
No. First two warnings given the rules ok by definition (although almost all coaches coach from the stands and it’s rarely called). And Lahyani-Kyrgios.
The problem was Ramos should have shown better discretion given the context and situation. A fcukong game? In the late stages of a championship match?
Just no.
To think what male players get away with saying.
Total fail.
Naomi would have won the match no matter what, with or without Serena’s meltdown! And if it was Naomi not Serena acting this way, she would be booed and judged by all the spectators and everyone would be supportive of Ramos fining her! Double standards!
I don’t have sny simpathy for Serena in this incident! Great champions do not call the umpire a “liar and a thief” and simply do not behave like this!
That’s exactly WHY Ramos showed poor judgement. It was in his hands and he failed.
Brad Gilbert nails it:
“This is so sad and especially for Osaka on her tremendous level throughout the tournament, the coaching violation was ridiculous SW23 never saw it and looked liked absolutely nothing seen 50X worse and not called. Osaka was 2 games from the finish line 🏁 let the match play out”
How many times did Rafa and Novak get point penalty for time violation and it usually happened on key points, Ramos executing it more than often! However, I don’t recall Rafa screaming at the umpire calling him names and I also don’t recall Gilbert talking about it or defending Rafa..,.this was just one point, no reason for Serena to go wild about it…but her frustration was not Ramos, it was the fact that she wad clearly outplayed out there!
It’s ridiculous to defend Serena’s behavior towards the umpire. But the queen thinks she is untouchable and what’s worse the false media support her barbaric behavior! Sad it is…
At least she realized how stupid she was and acted graciously during the ceremony.,.
Didn’t defend Serena.
#Strawman
I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a coaching violation called! But Serena did not need to smash her racket. She did not need to start berating the umpire & calling him a thief. WTH did she think was going to happen? Yeah, I know what she thought: she’d get away with it. After all Serena is The Queen. Sorry for Naomi though, kind of ruined her big moment.
Then most of the ATP players are a bunch of queens too.
@ramara,
Exactly!
In reality, there’s a problem with all three bad calls:
1) on court coaching is rarely and inconsistently called
2) you should be allowed to smash your racquet.
3) a game penalty for the word thief in this context is everything that’s wrong and inconsistent about tennis.
And I would have been happy for either player to win. Osaka is an incredible talent.
1) agree Didn’t it use to be a fine, not a point penalty? Harsh to penalize a player for what a coach does.
2) No. Remove the penalty and we’ll be “treated” to no end of racket smashes. We get enough of them as it is.
3) A game penalty is too harsh period. Give her another point or two. But that would be a rule change. Out of the ump’s control.
Currently I am watching Serena speaking about her “humility”. That’s a laugh. But she was gracious with Osaka during the ceremony.
I agree 100% with this analysis onTennis Channel. Great take:
https://twitter.com/tennischannel/status/1038566290972004352?s=21
/sigh Lahyani would have handled the situation better. And I agree that if the umpire would not have called a man on Serena’s behavior he has no business calling a woman on it! But Serena’s been a pro for lo these many years and really ought to know the rules.
I am shocked to read here that calling the umpire a ‘thief’ is not a big deal and the punishment that followed was too much. Letting someone do that to an umpire will have long-term devastating effects on tennis. Everyone has to be responsible of their words too. Disagreeing and showing frustration is fine. Attacking someone personally is not.
Umpire was harsh. I think Serena had a right to be mad. But I think the fashion in which she vented the anger was not okay. I also just mainly don’t like the whole thing for Osaka’s case. She thoroughly outplayed Serena and deserved it 100% but may not have felt like it at the end with the boos at the ceremony. Anyways, she is awesome and so good for her age. And unlike Ostapenko, she isn’t a total coin flip go-for-broke style player. She actually has some control in her game, both physically and emotionally.
I think the Serena did take the coaching violation too personally. It has nothing to do with her. The chair umpire saw her coach giving signals. She may not have seen it. But that does not make her a cheater. Even her own coach admitted after the match on ESPN that he did it. It all went wrong from there. Serena would not let it go.
I also think deep down it was that Serena was getting outplayed. She was not playing well and Osaka kept her cool and played great tennis.
I felt so bad when Osaka has the chance to talk atcthe trophy ceremony and she said to the crowd that she knows they all wanted Serena to win and broke down crying. That just broke my heart. The one good thing that Serena did was to tell the crowd to stop booing and give Isaka her moment. That was the right thing to do.
It was really such a shame that this young woman’s triumph was spoiled by this controversy.
I think there is great pressure on Serena. She lost Wimby final and now USO. Did she ever lose 2 consecutive slam finals before? She was furious because Naomi was better player and that’s probably very frustrating for someone who is used to be the winner most of the times.
Yeah, Eugene, she lost the Aussie Open Final and the the French final back-to-back just two seasons ago, against Kerber and Muguruza, respectively.
I think that’s the only other time, though. Prior to 2016, I feel like you could count her number of major final losses on one hand. And then out of nowhere, she lost 4 out of her last 6 major Finals. Part of it is surely age, the most recent two could be attributed to both age and having recently returned from giving birth.
Either way, she is clearly under more pressure than she wants us to believe. Personally, I don’t think Margaret Court should even be mentioned in the same breath as Serena Williams. She won a lot of her titles as an amateur, and the Aussie Open (which she won 11 times) was an absolute joke in the 1960’s/‘70s.
But clearly it is very important to Serena that there be no asterisks of any kind when discussing her legacy, as some idiots who know nothing about tennis could always try to claim that Serena isn’t as great as the fucking devil Margaret Court.
Ok, can you tell I’m biased against Court haha? I truly believe she is the absolute most hideous, disgusting, morally bankrupt, homophobic waste of space.
Margaret Court is the TRUE “pox” on tennis, without a doubt. Thank god that 99% of the world doesn’t even know she exists…
I missed the final altogether, so hearing all this second hand is disappointing.
But it reminds me of 2011 , and I think 2012? when Serena allegedly threatened a lineswoman .
Allegedly?
I just don’t know .
But its not the first time she just looked like a bad loser in the US Open final .
Serena’s “threat” came when she threatened to stuff a tennis ball down the lineswoman’s throat for daring to call a foot fault on her. She CANNOT BE SERIOUS!
On the other hand, every player for the WTA is female and quite a few of them are black. Why is it always Serena that plays the race/gender cards?
2011 , that’s right, she claimed racism against Sam Stosur.
I wonder if she’ll ever beat Margaret Courts record?
Serena doesnt do herself any favours…
2012 /lineswoman incident, it took her three days to apologise.
Big big congrats to Naomi!!!…..Wooohoooo!!….Who would have thunk she will win in her 1st attempt????Oh my God!!…To think that all her senior peers take years to win 1st slam..and she did it in her 1st try!!!….JUST WOW!!!!
Caroline Wozniacki took 7 years to secured her 1st slam…..Simona & many others…Oh wow!….Just hope Naomi will not be like other champions who goes AWOL after won their 1st….She just too good & too talented for that….C’mon Naomi!!
Also wanna give a BIG CONGRATS for Eugene for winning our Brackets!!…Hey hey hey buddy!….Awesome!!
Amazing Naomi,full credit to anyone who predicted her to do well.
Looks like Patrick Mouratoglou has dragged a certain someone into this on-court coaching fiasco.
I don’t know what the fuss is about on-court coaching from the stands , hand gestures and the like. How much difference is it going to make to the outcome?
Mouratoglou touched on one of Williams’ complaints – that similar things happen in the men’s game, that go unpunished.
“It’s strange because this chair umpire was the chair umpire of most of the finals for Rafa (Nadal) and (his coach) Toni is coaching every single point, and he never gave a warning. So I don’t really get it,” he said.
#OnCourtCoaching
If you mean his reference to Uncle Toni coaching Rafa? That was totally unnecessary. Rafa has been fined for coaching. But you would never see him react like Serena. This was about Serena’s coach. He even dragged Osaka’s coach into it by saying he was giving her coaching signals throughout the match.
So his position seems to be that he did coach, but everyone else does it.
“So his position seems to be that he did coach, but everyone else does it.”
this is such BS. tio toni and francisco roig are notorious for coaching dull during matches. mouratoglou brought up a perfect example.
Federer is P.E.D.erer
#fleurturd
https://media.giphy.com/media/4NvsOAcKCGPSsV1zpQ/giphy.gif
#RetirementGoat
Never click on fleurturd links.
Besides, Federer is P.E.D.erer. (and chickened out of the world tour final championship match vs Nole not because he couldn’t play but because, in his own words, “wouldn’t have a chance” to win.
Coaching from the stands is rampant but I have not seen it called in ages. No clue why Ramos suddenly decided to call it but maybe it had been going on for awhile and seeing Serena change her tactics and approach the net, as her coach had directed, set him off. It’s a theory, anyway.
williams is a zero class bully. she should be suspended from the tour but won’t b/c she is an american. she’ll play the sexism card now. she is such a disgrace.
Serena was just so dramatic, she really overdid it. The crying and borderline bratty behavior was just so annoying. She just kept harassing the ref for the call, incessantly demanding an apology, acting so damn entitled. Naomi Osaka shouldn’t have had to deal with all that drama on the other side of the net during her first slam win. Honestly though, Serena was kind of asking for the second and third penalties after she reacted so volatilely to the first coaching warning and most importantly making it SOOO personal.
Just Serena being Serena, not really a surprise.
Shame this spoiled a really good women’s final. I was surprised at how well Osaka held her nerve and played her game. Wish the best for her going forward.
James Blake says:
I will admit I have said worse and not gotten penalized. And I’ve also been given a “soft warning” by the ump where they tell you knock it off or I will have to give you a violation. He should have at least given her that courtesy. Sad to mar a well played final that way.
James Blake says:
Terrible ruling to give the game penalty. She called him a thief, nothing vulgar at all.
James Blake says::
“Serena (6 time champion) owes the us open audience an apology? That’s the worst take I’ve ever heard. She played with passion and got to the finals 1 year after almost dying in child birth. The us open audience is lucky to have the chance to watch the greatest of all time”
“Osaka played great and deserved the title. Didn’t deserve to have it tarnished with this.”
I agree with Serena on this occasion, but her behaviour in past US finals wasn’t much different.
Nice quote from James Blake .
Another good take…
“There was a place for discretion tonight, and it’s hard to think of other pivotal matches where an umpire was so quick to pull the trigger. There’s plenty of precedent of players venting on the changeover, whether it’s Federer’s salty outburst in 2009 or Nadal’s locking horns with his nemesis Carlos Bernardes, or a countless other number of angry rants that regularly make highlight reels but not the penalty lists. ”
http://www.changeovertennis.com/serena-williams-new-york-problem-soft-power/
Preach if Billie Jean King:
“When a woman is emotional, she’s “hysterical” and she’s penalized for it. When a man does the same, he’s “outspoken” & and there are no repercussions. Thank you, @serenawilliams, for calling out this double standard. More voices are needed to do the same.”
I didn’t watch the match..just saw footage of Ramos giving her the game penalty. He really escalated the situation needlessly imo. And I have never seen anyone given a game penalty in a major. When you look at the behaviour of people like foggy and kygrios it’s absurd. Foggy has threatened umpires without getting that. I thought Ramos ‘s behaviour was intolerably sexist. If a man had called him a thief in exactly the same circumstances and in exactly the same way he wouldn’t have done that.
There also is a constant problem with people getting outrage because they are speaking in English so everyone understand s them while others are clearly swearing away and hurling insults but no one understand s in the immediate moment what they are saying.
Exactly.
Serena Williams’s U.S. Open Loss Was Humiliating—But Not For Her – What happened to the superstar was shocking. It was not surprising.
“Taking a game away from Williams for using the word “thief” during such a high-stakes match is unlikely to do much to quash the notion that a double standard exists between men and women in today’s competitive tennis field. And the stakes of that double standard can feel even higher for women of color. The support for Williams on Saturday—and throughout her career—comes not just from appreciation for her rare talent, but in part because some fans have an enduring memory of how difficult it is for women of color to make it in expensive, mostly white sports.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/09/a-heart-breaking-grand-slam/569704/
Game penalty in final or first round for an outburst is absurd. I think this final will be remembered more about Ramos’s stupid decision. On one hand one umpire is trying to motivate a douchebag like Kyrgios who is hell bent on throwing in the towel and on the other hand in a high profile major, you come up with this penalty. Get lost Ramos
I was just going to say that the timing of it all was utterly extraordinary and anyway who makes such a big fuss about coaching when it goes on all the time for both men and women?! That’s twice this tourney there have been highly controversial cases of umpires making unwarranted interventions. It’s really disappointing.
And anyone who doubts that Serena being a woman of colour isn’t also a factor has got their head in the sand.
Ramos did the right thing. thugs and bullies should be handled exactly how he did it. i am afraid, he may be suspended now as he dared to sanction an american player. yanks will pull all the strings to destroy his career. i hope not.
Nothing to do with nationality.
Anyone else having problems posting ??
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Certain words get posts filtered such as “cl0ck”.
Or if the post has multiple links.
Among other unpredictable and random criteria such as browser used etc. You can try clearing your browser cookies which seems to help at times.
I always copy posts before posting in case it doesn’t post the first time.
Well many of them were calling out rubbishgoat’s hypocrisy!!
Congrats to darling Naomi Osaka!
I didn’t see the match but I’ve watched highlights of Serena and the Umpire.
Isn’t Ramos kind of an asshole anyway? It’s just my impression of him – a bias probably. Maybe Serena could have handled it somehow with less trauma to Naomi, it’s distressing to think that this USO Final will be more remembered for the trouble and controversy. But I don’t have a problem at all with Serena calling out hypocrisy, sexism, and racist decisions coming from someone who obviously should not be allowed to umpire WTA matches.
It’s just heartbreaking that Naomi Osaka’s first GS wasn’t able to be more celebrated at the time for her. She’s likely understands more looking back on it over time.
Who are you supporting tonight rc!!??
I think Delpo winning would be amazing!!
Same question to hawks!!
Hi Amy!
I don’t know who I’ll be cheering more but I’m home and ready to watch this final. Right now I want Delpo to get this but when I see the match, no doubt I’ll also be cheering for Nole if he’s getting waxed. I’ll be happy either way…. I think 😀
Well Nole and Delpo are my 2 faces after Rafa rc! But Delpo hasn’t won a slam in nearly 10 years and has faced years of painful injuries so I am definitely supporting him!
Del Potro for sure as the underdog and after all he’s gone through.
But I’ll be happy for Nole ole ole to as well. I’d like to see Rafa and Nole get at least 20 slams each which I think they can both achieve before they retire. Glad he’s recovered his form.
Nole said that he’d have more to say in the future about his recent slump. I’m pretty sure that I know what he will say and it will probably be after he retires.
That’s very enigmatic hawks! So what do you think he ie Nole is going to say??
if people are concerned about sexism, why not just have male umpires for mens matches, and female ones for women’s?
I don’t even.
It’s okay…I feel very attached to Delpo and I think most here will be cheering for him. What I want is a hard fought match – preferably 5 sets! Then I don’t feed bad for either who loses (I think). I can think of reasons I want both players to win. Cheers!
Actually I thought you might be leaning towards Delpo for similar reasons to the ones I gave! Nole is probably going to have a lot more chances than Delpo to win slams!
Could be a classic match tonight..
It’s a close call amy. I fall into that trap of wanting more and more for Novak because I’m defensive of him and feel he’s underappreciated compared to Rafa and Roger and I guess the only way he’ll be up there with Fedal is to accumulate the astronomic numbers.
But my love for Delpo is certainly leaning for him.
Well I think Nole will win more slams anyway!! But I don’t see so many chances for delps because he isn’t so fit and may have problems with his wrist again. And he has only got one slam! So I am definitely on the Delpo train….
Many women can be just as ignorant about the many ways of being sexist as men. And many men are as fair and knowledgeable as any woman. Sexism manifests itself in ignorance. It also can be intentional but I mostly think someone like Ramos doesn’t think he’s being sexist – he’s ignorant. It’s just the force of habit that he’s learned from society and has had no cause to think deeply about it.
LOL, He probably will thing more about it in the future – Ramos will.
think
From Twitter:
“Serena Williams didn’t have a meltdown. She defended her honor on one of the grandest stages in a sport she’s dominated for her entire adult life that continually disrespects her. Don’t reduce her justified frustration to sexist behavioral stereotypes.”
I wasn’t!
I was responding to a suggestion “guest” made
My post wasn’t in any way a reaction to you rc. Sorry if it came across that way.
Just something I appreciated on twitter. 🙂
Tignor gets it (as usual):
“A good umpire—and Ramos has been among the most respected for years—has to recognize the stakes in any given situation and adjust for them. Instead, with the US Open title on the line, he tipped the scales of the match significantly because a player called him a thief. (As far as I heard, Serena didn’t curse at him.) Ramos would have been better off warning Serena that if she didn’t stop, a game penalty would be coming.”