And then there were two. The women’s final headlines Day 13 of the 2018 US Open, bringing together two players who could not be more different in terms of experience or more alike in terms of the way they’ve dominated their respective halves of the draw. Today, six-time US Open champ Serena Williams takes on first-time US Open finalist Naomi Osaka for the women’s title; each earning this second-Saturday showing by playing remarkable tennis throughout the course of this Flushing fortnight. This was not, by any stretch, the matchup we’d anticipated for this final, but the caliber of play displayed by both women throughout their first six matches has carried each to a seventh, and now one will end this day with a very nice trophy, a very large check, and maybe—just maybe—having written a new page in the grand history of this sport.
Here’s what’s at stake here this afternoon: for Osaka, a win would establish the up-and-comer as a here-and-nower; providing her with the sort of impressive credentials that last a lifetime. For Williams, the taking of a title here would be a bit more resounding, as it would be her seventh US Open crown, breaking the tie she now shares with Chris Evert for most in the Open era. What’s more, a win would—at long last—give Williams 24 Grand Slam singles titles, tying her with Margaret Court for the most major titles of all time. Although few would argue that Williams is the greatest woman ever to play this sport, owning a record like that makes for much less of an argument.
You all know the story by now. A year ago at this time, Williams was a brand-new mom; her daughter Olympia born on Sept. 1, 2017. Williams’ pregnancy meant she’d been absent from the game’s major stages from the time of her win at the 2017 Australian Open until she returned to Slam competition at this year’s French. At Roland Garros, she played her way to the fourth round; at Wimbledon, she made a run to the final. Here, in just her third major post-motherhood, she’s again reached the final—and today stands on the threshold of history.
Williams is playing this tournament as its No. 17 seed, which sort of flies in the face of the idea that numbers don’t lie. Throughout this event, she’s looked very much like the woman who’s held the sport’s No. 1 ranking for 319 weeks—trailing only Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova in the Open era—as she has blazed her way through the draw and into her 31st career major final with the loss of just one set.
Before this tournament began, Williams downplayed her chances of making much of an impact here. Of course, she was about the only one who did. Let’s face it, Williams figures as a factor in every event she plays, and on the hard floors of Flushing, she’s a particularly potent force. Her career winning percentage of .896 here is the highest mark of any player—male or female—in the Open era.
Through six matches, Williams has won78 percent of her first-serve points, gotten in 75 percent of her returns, broken opponents 27 times and has only been broken herself 17 times in a mere 23 chances. She has 200 winners against just 127 unforced errors and has logged just seven hours, 38 minutes on court. She breezed through her semifinal against No. 19 seed Anastasija Sevastova, taking the 6-3, 6-0 win in just 1 hour, 6 minutes. And that win was especially significant, considering the fact that the semifinal round had been quicksand here for Williams in the last two years she’d competed at the Open; losing at that stage in both 2015 and 2016.
Osaka is no doubt familiar with the various mind-boggling highlights of the Williams resume, if only because Williams is her idol. Indeed, when she was being interviewed on court after her semifinal win over last year’s US Open finalist Madison Keys, Osaka was asked if she had a message for Williams. “I love you,” she said.
There’s been a lot to love about the 20-year-old Japanese phenom, as well, over these two weeks. Playing a power game with a poise that belies her young years, Osaka also has dropped just a single set in reaching her first career major final. She’s here today as the first Japanese woman in the history of the sport to compete in the ultimate round of a Slam, and she’s also the youngest US Open finalist since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.
But while she may be young, Osaka certainly owns an impressively mature game, and she’s used the big stage of the Open to showcase it, much to the delight of fans and the displeasure of those she’s faced across the net. She plays with a remarkable mix of power and precision, painting lines on cement like a highway worker and pounding opponents into submission with a lethal ground assault. Three of her six wins so far have taken less than an hour to complete; two clocked in at a mere 50 minutes each. All in, she’s logged just 7 hours, 22 minutes, playing like a woman paying for court time.
But apart from her blistering ground game, equally impressive is her constant cool. Once a whirlwind of emotion on court, Osaka now seems completely unflappable in any situation; absolutely unmoved by either opponent or occasion. She has the unique ability to see the finish line and quickly calculate the quickest way there. Indeed, there’s not a camera lens in the photographer’s pit today that can focus like she can. And that’s been the essential ingredient in improving her big picture.
Osaka offered a hint of her growing greatness back in March, when she won her first career title at the hard-court Indian Wells event, notching wins over Maria Sharapova, Karolina Pliskova and women’s No. 1 Simona Halep along the way. The following week, in Miami, she took out Williams in the first round. Those wins no doubt helped the coming talent believe she belonged, and today, she’ll get a chance to double down on that belief.
But that will be easier said than done, because Williams, this close to 24, isn’t likely to let Osaka dictate points in the same fashion as she’s done to this point. You just don’t get to be the greatest of all time without seizing the biggest moments on the grandest stages.
With each passing round, Williams has played with more confidence and has looked more dominant. We’ve seen this Serena before—23 times before, to be precise. Osaka is a good one, without a doubt. But today, she’s going up against greatness. Given the choice, always go with great.
In two, Williams is the 2018 US Open women’s champion.
