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
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2 MIN READ
1/17
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.
AP
2/17
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.
AP
3/17
Naomi Osaka (R) holds the championship trophy and Victoria Azarenka (L) of Belarus holds the finalist trophy.
AFP
4/17
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.
NYT
5/17
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.
AFP
6/17
Azarenka, 31, sprinted to the first set in just 26 minutes, dominating Osaka with an 88 percent success rate on her first serve.
NYT
7/17
The Japanese was uncharacteristically sloppy, hitting a whopping 13 unforced errors.
USA TODAY Sports
8/17
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.
USA TODAY Sports
9/17
The momentum had quickly swung in Osaka's favor and she broke a third time to take the match to a deciding set.
AFP
10/17
Osaka enjoyed the first breakthrough of set three in game four when she broke Azarenka's serve to take a 3-1 lead.
USA TODAY Sports
11/17
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.
NYT
12/17
Azarenka then saved four break points to make it 4-2 as she battled to keep the contest alive.
AFP
13/17
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.
NYT
14/17
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.
USA TODAY Sports
15/17
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.
USA TODAY Sports
16/17
Osaka, of Japanese and Haitian heritage, wore different masks honoring victims of racial injustice and police brutality in each round of the tournament.
AFP
17/17
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus hits the ball against Naomi Osaka of Japan.
USA TODAY Sports
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