Roll to this years US Open:
They came to Queens to see Serena Williams make history. Instead, they saw Serena lose her mind again at the U.S. Open — a flashback to her pre-motherhood days. Instead, the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd saw the future of women’s tennis — and her name is Naomi Osaka, the 20-year-old 2018 U.S. Open champion.
The only thing Williams broke Saturday was her racket, then she broke down on the court in epic fashion. With a history of sore-losing behavior, Serena lit up the chair umpire after a second code violation for smashing her racket that cost her a point to start the sixth game of the second set.
“You owe me an apology,’’ an unhinged Serena bellowed at the umpire and relentlessly kept demanding one.
Williams unleashed another cringe-worthy tirade after getting her serve broken. On that changeover, Williams called umpire Carlos Ramos “a thief,” adding “You stole a point from me.’’
All hell then broke loose. Ramos couldn’t take her harangue any longer and issued an extremely rare game penalty against Williams, putting her down 5-3.
When Williams realized the massive penalty, she flipped out, all but sobbing. The fans booed — taking her side, not realizing the nasty words she had used.
“This is not fair, this is not fair,’’ a teary-eyed Williams screamed, her voice quivering. “Men do much worse. Because I’m a woman you’re going to take this away from me. To happen to me in this tournament every single time is not fair.”
Williams was going to lose anyway — the final tally was 6-2, 6-4 — but this display on the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open was a shame. This was not behavior befitting of a role-model mother — her talk of fighting for women’s rights in the post-match press conference hitting the wrong note.
It tarnished Williams’ first appearance at the Open since she became a mother, rekindled her more immature days when she warred with Open officials and linespeople and received her share of fines in past final appearances.
The mess all started over that first code violation she received for receiving coaching from coach Patrick Mouratoglou from the stands.
Williams had looked at her player’s box and the Frenchman motioned a sign for her to move up to the net. Guilty, said Mouratoglou, who added it is a common practice usually ignored.
“We all know all the coaches coach at every match all year long,’’ he said. Mouratoglou claimed Williams didn’t even see it, which is why she “didn’t understand.’’
And Williams blew up.
“I don’t cheat to win,’’ Williams told the chair umpire, adding she had a daughter who looks up to her. “I’d rather lose.”
Mouratoglou said it was the umpire who needed to ignore it.
“You don’t screw a Grand Slam final,’’ he said.
No, it was Serena who “screwed’’ this Open final. She needed to move on, needed to see if Osaka could close this one out.
Her fans booed at the start of the championship trophy ceremony, perceiving Williams got robbed. Others wondered why she is not an even bigger deal with 23 Grand Slam titles. Maybe Saturday was why. Her boorish acts on these big stages are unseemly. That’s not “fighting for women’s rights,’’ as she claimed.
In damage control, Williams attempted to defuse the awkwardness. Her handlers were proud, telling grim-faced USTA officials afterward Williams had showed professionalism in not inciting the crowd further.
Really, it was too late.
“She played well,’’ Williams said of Osaka during the trophy presentation. “This is her first Grand Slam. I know you guys were rooting. I was rooting too. We’ll get through it. Give credit where it’s due. Let’s not boo anymore. No more booing.’’
Osaka was born in Japan but has more New York in her than her idol Serena. She lived in Elmont, Long Island for six years of her childhood. On Saturday’s grandest stage, in her first Grand Slam final, Osaka was all about being the confident and composed one, unlike Williams, who is 16 years her senior.
Osaka stood above this awful fray. She cried during the ceremony and Williams comforted her. She wasn’t sure if those tears were mixed.
“I felt bad because I’m crying and she’s crying,’’ Serena said. “I’m not sure they were happy tears or sad tears because of the moment.’’
Osaka, with her fluid ground strokes, was the fearless New Yorker not overwhelmed by the moment. Serena is the reason Osaka plays tennis. Osaka’s father, Leonard Francois, was inspired by Richard Williams and his tennis family.
The women’s game is flooded with parity but could use this new bright star who’s not Serena.
Williams may eventually tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 if she gets her emotions together.
Osaka has learned so much from Serena, but she should never try to emulate this side of the tennis legend. Osaka was absolutely terrific and it shouldn’t be lost in Serena’s historic meltdown.
