Naomi Osaka is once again a champion in Flushing, New York. She defeated Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in three sets, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, to win her second US Open title in three years, and the third major of her young career.
Azarenka's dominance in that first set cannot be overstated. In just 27 minutes, she had taken the first set against a player eight years her junior, who was just two years removed from last winning this tournament. Her ability to locate her returns seemingly wherever she wanted to visibly frustrated Osaka, and it looked like an approach the 22-year-old just had no answer for. This even spilled into the second set early, but young star quickly adjusted herself to make the comeback.
"I thought it would be very embarrassing to lose in under an hour," she said of what inspired her comeback after the match. "So I just had to try as hard as I can, and stop having a bad attitude."
Once Osaka woke up from her self-described bad attitude, it seemed like there was no chance for Vika to storm back. Yes, both players were making what appeared to be nerve-induced mistakes, but the energy that had Osaka playing on her back heels was no longer there for Azarenka after her opponent was able to take four straight games in the second set to mount her comeback
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