Photos: Naomi Osaka beats Victoria Azarenka to win 2nd US Open and third Grand Slam

Osaka, the fourth seed, overcame her unseeded opponent 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 1hr 53min

Last updated: September 13, 2020 | 06:26

AFP and compiled by Balaram Menon, Senior Web Editor

2 MIN READ

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Naomi Osaka, of Japan, returns a shot to Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, during the women's singles final of the US Open tennis championships, in New York.

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Japan's Naomi Osaka came from a set down to beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus to win the US Open on Saturday and clinch her third Grand Slam title.

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Naomi Osaka (R) holds the championship trophy and Victoria Azarenka (L) of Belarus holds the finalist trophy.

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Osaka, the fourth seed, overcame her unseeded opponent 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 1hr 53min inside a near-empty Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows.

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It brought 22-year-old Osaka's haul of tennis major trophies to three after her victories at the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open. | Above: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus serves the ball in the second set.

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Azarenka, 31, sprinted to the first set in just 26 minutes, dominating Osaka with an 88 percent success rate on her first serve.

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The Japanese was uncharacteristically sloppy, hitting a whopping 13 unforced errors.

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Azarenka then went 2-0 ahead in the second set before Osaka fought back to break her opponent's serve twice and take a 4-3 lead.

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The momentum had quickly swung in Osaka's favor and she broke a third time to take the match to a deciding set.

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Osaka enjoyed the first breakthrough of set three in game four when she broke Azarenka's serve to take a 3-1 lead.

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Azarenka then blew a golden opportunity to get back into the match, wasting three break points as Osaka recovered from 0-40 to hold for a 4-1 lead.

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Azarenka then saved four break points to make it 4-2 as she battled to keep the contest alive.

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When she broke Osaka in game seven, the set was back on serve. But Osaka immediately broke back after Azarenka pushed a forehand wide to leave herself the opportunity of serving for the match.

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On Osaka's second championship point, Azarenka found the net. After touching racquets with her opponent, Osaka lay down in the middle of the court and looked up at the sky in celebration.

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Osaka had walked onto the court wearing a mask bearing the name of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African-American boy who was shot dead by a white police officer in Cleveland, Ohio in 2014.

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Osaka, of Japanese and Haitian heritage, wore different masks honoring victims of racial injustice and police brutality in each round of the tournament.

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Victoria Azarenka of Belarus hits the ball against Naomi Osaka of Japan.

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