Naomi Osaka defeats Victoria Azarenka to win the US Open

With a spectacular comeback, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka defeated Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in three sets on Saturday and won her second US Open title.

Osaka, 22, defeated Azarenka, 31, with a score of 1-6, 6-3, and 6-3 in one hour and 53 minutes of play on the Arthur Ashe court, the main court of Flushing Meadows (New York), with empty stands due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With this victory, Osaka adds her second US Open title, following her win in 2018, and the third Grand Slam title of her career, while Azarenka couldn't complete her unexpected sporting comeback in the first major final she has played since 2013.

The match was a generational duel between the two best players by far in these past three weeks of tennis in New York.

Osaka, ranked 9th in the WTA, and Azarenka (27) had already faced each other in the final of the Premier tournament in Cincinnati (played in New York) on August 27, but the Japanese player withdrew beforehand due to physical discomfort.

The forecast for this Saturday was uncertain, as although Osaka had won the two Grand Slam finals of her career (2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open), Azarenka has also shown a very high level during the past three weeks in New York and came full of confidence after her comeback victory against Serena Williams in the semifinals.

On the court was one of the players with the best serve in the circuit, Osaka, against one of the best in the return, Azarenka, who imposed her style in the first set, preventing the Japanese player from taking the initiative in the points.

Osaka began to feel uncertain with her serve from the first game, in which the Belarusian achieved a break that gave her confidence to approach the net more often than her rival.

Azarenka broke her serve again, taking a 4-1 lead, with Osaka dropping her racket to the ground.

The young player made visible efforts to contain her frustration after accumulating 11 unforced errors at that point in the match.

Azarenka still managed to get a new break in the first game of the second set, but the Japanese player began to shake off the nerves and became much more aggressive with her forehand and on the return of her opponent's serve.

The strategy paid off for the Japanese player with points of demoralizing power for Azarenka, achieving two breaks to take a 4-3 lead and then seal the set 6-3.

The third and decisive set started with confidence on Osaka's side, who quickly broke Azarenka's serve and took a 3-1 lead.

Osaka was able to overcome three break points that the Belarusian had at 3-1. The Belarusian refused to throw in the towel and broke her serve again to close the gap to 4-3, but Osaka did the same in the next game and secured the title with her serve.

With this victory, Osaka once again emerges triumphant in Flushing Meadows after the turbulent final she played in 2018 against Serena Williams, with whom she made herself known to the world of tennis.