- Osaka says 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win was ‘a tough match, but inspiring’
- 2018 champion wore mask commemorating Tamir Rice
Naomi Osaka flirted with ignominy before quelling the spirited challenge of Victoria Azarenka to win her second US Open, and the third slam of her young career, at the end of an extraordinary fortnight at locked-down Flushing Meadows.
She won 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, only the fourth women’s final to go the distance in 25 years – and the first in an Arthur Ashe Stadium holding a scattered audience of fellow professionals, friends, coaches and officials – although it might all have been over before the lights started popping on Broadway.
