Naomi Osaka, of Japan, returns a shot to Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, during the women's singles final of the US Open tennis championships, in New York.Image Credit: AP
Photos: Naomi Osaka beats Victoria Azarenka to win 2nd US Open and third Grand Slam
Osaka, the fourth seed, overcame her unseeded opponent 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 1hr 53min
by AFPJapan's Naomi Osaka came from a set down to beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to win the US Open on Saturday and clinch her third Grand Slam title.Image Credit: APNaomi Osaka (R) holds the championship trophy and Victoria Azarenka (L) of Belarus holds the finalist trophy.Image Credit: AFPOsaka, the fourth seed, overcame her unseeded opponent 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 1hr 53min inside a near-empty Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows.Image Credit: NYTIt brought 22-year-old Osaka's haul of tennis major trophies to three after her victories at the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open. | Above: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus serves the ball in the second set.Image Credit: AFPAzarenka, 31, sprinted to the first set in just 26 minutes, dominating Osaka with an 88 percent success rate on her first serve.Image Credit: NYTThe Japanese was uncharacteristically sloppy, hitting a whopping 13 unforced errors.Image Credit: USA TODAY SportsAzarenka then went 2-0 ahead in the second set before Osaka fought back to break her opponent's serve twice and take a 4-3 lead.Image Credit: USA TODAY SportsThe momentum had quickly swung in Osaka's favor and she broke a third time to take the match to a deciding set.Image Credit: AFPOsaka enjoyed the first breakthrough of set three in game four when she broke Azarenka's serve to take a 3-1 lead.Image Credit: USA TODAY SportsAzarenka then blew a golden opportunity to get back into the match, wasting three break points as Osaka recovered from 0-40 to hold for a 4-1 lead.Image Credit: NYTAzarenka then saved four break points to make it 4-2 as she battled to keep the contest alive.Image Credit: AFPWhen she broke Osaka in game seven, the set was back on serve. But Osaka immediately broke back after Azarenka pushed a forehand wide to leave herself the opportunity of serving for the match.Image Credit: NYTOn Osaka's second championship point, Azarenka found the net. After touching racquets with her opponent, Osaka lay down in the middle of the court and looked up at the sky in celebration.Image Credit: USA TODAY SportsOsaka had walked onto the court wearing a mask bearing the name of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African-American boy who was shot dead by a white police officer in Cleveland, Ohio in 2014.Image Credit: USA TODAY SportsOsaka, of Japanese and Haitian heritage, wore different masks honoring victims of racial injustice and police brutality in each round of the tournament.Image Credit: AFPVictoria Azarenka of Belarus hits the ball against Naomi Osaka of Japan.Image Credit: USA TODAY Sports
