‘Quarrelsome’ Serena yields tiara to Osaka

NEW YORK – The events and the arguing and the booing that would make this a US Open final unlike any other began when Serena Williams’ coach made what she insisted was an innocent thumbs-up, but the chair umpire interpreted as a helpful signal.

It was the second game of the second set Saturday, in a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium, and Williams’ bid for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title already was in real trouble because she was being outplayed by first-time major finalist Naomi Osaka.

Chair umpire Carlos Ramos warned Williams for getting coaching during a match, which isn’t allowed. She briefly disputed that ruling, saying cheating “is the one thing I’ve never done, ever.” A few games later, Williams received another warning, this time for smashing her racket, and that second violation cost her a point, leading to more arguing. Eventually, Williams called Ramos “a thief,” drawing a third violation – and costing her a game.

“I have never cheated in my life!” Williams told Ramos. “You owe me an apology.”

Soon, Osaka was finishing off a 6-2, 6-4 victory that made her the first player from Japan to win a Grand Slam singles title. That is not, however, what will be remembered about this chaotic evening.

With jeers bouncing off the arena’s closed roof, both players – the champion, Osaka, and the runner-up, Williams – wiped away tears during a trophy ceremony that was awkward for everyone involved.

“I just feel like I had a lot of emotions,” Osaka said, “so I had to kind of categorize what was which emotion.”

Williams whispered something to Osaka and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“I felt, at one point, bad, because I’m crying and she’s crying. You know, she just won. I’m not sure if they were happy tears or they were just sad tears, because of the moment. I felt like, ‘Wow, this isn’t how I felt when I won my first Grand Slam.’ I was like, ’Wow, I definitely don’t want her to feel like that,’” said Williams, who missed last year’s US Open because her daughter, Olympia, was born during the tournament. “Maybe it was the mom in me that was like, ‘Listen, we’ve got to pull ourselves together here.’”