US Open: Naomi Osaka comes back to beat Victoria Azarenka in ‘tough’ final
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Naomi Osaka captured the third grand slam title of her career with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Victoria Azarenka to lift her second US Open trophy in three years.
The Japanese fourth seed rallied from a set and a break down to snap Azarenka’s 11-match winning streak and maintain her perfect record in major finals.
Two weeks after forfeiting her Western & Southern Open final against Azarenka due to a hamstring injury, Osaka proved her mettle with a gutsy 112-minute win at an empty Arthur Ashe stadium.
This was Osaka’s third win from four meetings with Azarenka, who has now lost all three of her US Open finals. Osaka was pushed to the brink by the two-time Australian Open champion and was quick to give her credit during her victory speech.
“Firstly, I want to congratulate Vika. I actually don’t want to play you in more finals, I didn’t really enjoy that. It was a really tough match for me,” joked Osaka.