Sep 8, 2018; New York, NY, USA; Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts after winning a point against Serena Williams of the United States (not pictured) in the women’s final on day thirteen of the 2018 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
September 8, 2018
By Steve Keating
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Naomi Osaka became Japan’s first ever Grand Slam champion after she thumped a raging Serena Williams 6-2 6-4 in a controversial U.S. Open final on Saturday, with the American suffering a meltdown after being handed a game penalty.
With Osaka in control of the match, chair umpire Carlos Ramos sent Williams into a rage when he handed the 23-time Grand Slam champion a game penalty for a string of bad behavior, including a coaching violation and verbal and racket abuse.
Williams then launched a verbal attack on Ramos, demanding everything from an apology to accusing him of being a thief.
The game penalty put Osaka 5-3 up in second set and the 20-year-old Japanese kept her cool to pull off a historic win.
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
