Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticNaomi Osaka’s first Grand Slam victory was so dramatic as to feel like the scripted climax to a movie.
In 2018, the rising tennis phenom faced Serena Williams, one of the greatest to have ever played the sport and one of her longtime idols, and won in straight sets.
But when Osaka lifted her trophy, she was blinking back tears borne of a bittersweet frustration rather than the happiness she might have envisioned.In that crucial second set, the chair umpire cautioned Williams three times for various nitpicked offenses.
When Williams vociferously defended her honor by calling him “a thief,” he penalized her by forcing her to forfeit a game in Osaka’s favor.
Read more on variety.com