Japan yesterday Naomi Osaka’s stunning upset against Serena Williams to win the US Open, giving the nation some rare good news after a summer of deadly natural disasters.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led the praise, taking to Twitter to congratulate Osaka after her 6-2, 6-4 win in New York.
“Congratulations on your victory at the US Open. The first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam title. Thank you for giving energy and inspiration to the whole of Japan,” Abe wrote.
Photo: AFP
Abe was on his way to the northern island of Hokkaido, where a massive earthquake last week sparked landslides that buried houses in a rural town, killing at least 37 people and injuring hundreds of others.
Osaka’s grandfather Tetsuo Osaka, 73, lives in Hokkaido and said he wept watching his granddaughter on television.
“It still hasn’t sunk in for me yet. The moment she won, my wife and I rejoiced together. I was so happy, I cried,” he told public broadcaster NHK.
“I hope she stays healthy and continues her good work. I also hope she wins at the Tokyo Olympics” in 2020, he said.
Fellow Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori flooded Twitter with emojis of trophies, thumbs up and Japanese flags, followed by a simple tweet of “proud” alongside a Japanese flag.
Tsuyoshi Fukui, a former top Japanese player and now senior official at the Japanese Tennis Association, said Osaka’s performance would help to cheer the country up after typhoons, floods and earthquakes dominated the headlines this summer.
Osaka’s “tenacious and patient performance ... must have been a great show of encouragement to those Japanese people who saw damage from such things as typhoons and earthquakes,” Fukui told Japanese media.
Meanwhile, NHK took a break from its round-the-clock coverage of the disaster to turn to happier news.
“Osaka wins women’s US Open, becomes first Japanese to win Grand Slam,” was the broadcaster’s top headline.
Sports Nippon said Osaka had achieved a “complete victory” against an “irritated Serena who broke her racket.”
The Asahi Shimbun said on Twitter it would be printing an extra edition and distributing it in Tokyo.
The final will probably be remembered for a meltdown from Williams who called the chair umpire a “thief” as much as for the 20-year-old’s historic win.
Williams’s tantrum overshadowed an outstanding performance from Osaka, who made her second career title a Grand Slam after winning her first at Indian Wells in March.
Osaka has dual Japanese-American citizenship and often replies to questions from Japan’s media in English, apologizing for not knowing the appropriate word when she speaks Japanese.
After earning US$3.8 million for the victory, Osaka said her next goal was a simple one: win her next tournament in Tokyo.
Asked if she was prepared for the reception she would receive as the nation’s first Grand Slam winner, Osaka said: “Apparently not, because people keep asking me that.”
In other matches, Taiwanese players exited at the semi-finals stage.
Wimbledon winner and No. 1-ranked Tseng Chun-hsin was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by Thiago Seyboth Wild of Brazil in the boys’ singles on Saturday. Wild was to play Lorenzo Musetti in the final.
In the girls’ doubles, Joanna Garland of Taiwan and Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima lost 6-2, 6-2 to US pair Caty McNally and Cori Gauff.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put