Osaka apologises for denying Williams a 24th Major title
Japan's first Grand Slam champion apologises for denying her idol Williams a record-equalling 24th Major
It was supposed to be her moment, yet Naomi Osaka, who became Japan's first Grand Slam winner yesterday morning (Singapore time), felt compelled to apologise for beating home favourite Serena Williams at the US Open final.
At the award ceremony, the 20-year-old, who beat Williams 6-2, 6-4, lowered her visor and cried as boos rang out among the crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Osaka insisted that it was not the reaction of the crowd - angered at penalties meted out to Williams - but just the realisation that she'd robbed her idol, who inspired her career, of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.
"I know that everyone was cheering for her and I'm sorry that it had to end like this," said Osaka, who choked up before she was handed the trophy.
"I just want to say thank you for watching the match."
Osaka added that she knows Williams really wanted to win her 24th Grand Slam.
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She said: "When I step onto the court, I feel like a different person, right? I'm not a Serena fan. I'm just a tennis player playing another tennis player.
"But then when I hugged her at the net I felt like a little kid again."
Osaka, who has a Japanese mother and Haitian father, looked nothing like a kid as she took the court aiming to make history.
Undaunted by the massive pro-Williams crowd - extra noisy with the stadium roof closed because of rain - she broke Williams twice for a quick 4-1 lead in the opening set, displaying the kind of powerful ground game and dominant serve that have made Williams herself a star.
She had locked up the first in style with a blistering service winner when Williams was incensed by a code violation warning for receiving coaching from her box in the second game of the second set.
Although Williams would take a 3-1 lead in the set, the accusation festered, and soon a violation for racket abuse cost her a point while a third for verbal abuse cost her a game.
"I didn't know what was going on, I was just trying to focus. Since it was my first Grand Slam final, I did not want to get overwhelmed," Osaka said.
"Serena came to the bench and told me she had a point penalty and, when she got the game penalty, I didn't know that either. I was just trying to focus on myself at that time."
A somewhat muted reaction to her history-making victory had nothing to do with the late-match chaos, Osaka said.
Kei Nishikori is the only other Japanese player to reach a Grand Slam final and he couldn't take the last step, falling to Marin Cilic in the 2014 US Open men's final.
"To have a huge reaction isn't really me in the first place," she said.
"It just still didn't really feel that real."
Osaka, who earned US$3.8 million (S$5.24m) for the victory, said her next goal was a simple one: to win her next tournament in Tokyo.
Asked if she was prepared for the reception she'll receive as the country's first Grand Slam winner, Osaka said: "Apparently not, because people keep asking me that." - AFP
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