Serena Williams' bid for a record-equalling 24th grand slam title has been denied for the second time this year, beaten in the US Open final by rising Japanese star Naomi Osaka in an extraordinary match underlined by tears and a series of code violations handed out to the American.
Williams, who lost the Wimbledon final to Angelique Kerber in July, was no match for her composed 20-year-old opponent, succumbing 6-2 6-4 in front of a stunned New York crowd in a contest where the home favourite was deducted a point and then a game in the type of scenes rarely if ever sighted in professional tennis.
Played under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium due to weather concerns, Williams caused a long delay late in the second set to have a conversation with the tournament referees to complain about the way she was treated by chair umpire Carlos Ramos.
In an exchange that led to the game deduction, Williams said to Ramos: “You will never, ever, ever be on another court of mine as long as you live. You are the liar. You owe me an apology. You stole a point from me. You’re a thief, too.”
Extraordinary: Naomi Osaka had to fight back tears during a trophy presentation filled with emotion and some boos.Credit: AP
It had all originated with a code violation for coaching early in the second set, which Williams vehemently denied, stating "I don't cheat to win. I'd rather lose".
Osaka took it all in her stride, raining on Williams' expected victory parade and becoming the first Japanese player to win a grand slam singles title.
Just a year after giving birth, Williams had been impressive in her run to the decider and expectations were extremely high that she would cast aside her young opponent and join Australia's Margaret Court on 24 grand slam singles titles.
Yet it was Osaka displaying the poise and temperament that belied her age and relative lack of experience, breaking twice in the opening set to claim it after 34 minutes.
A pivotal moment came in the fourth game of the second set, when Osaka finally started making some errors and faced a series of break points on serve.
With the crowd trying their best to lift the home favourite, Williams finally broke through on her fourth attempt to take a 3-1 lead and seemingly a toe-hold into the match
Explosion: Williams had a number of exchanges with chair umpires Carlos Ramos.Credit: AP
But it was only a brief respite, Williams committing consecutive double faults in the next game and then destroying a racquet as Osaka immediately broke back.
It was all too much for Williams, who was deducted a point for a code violation for the smashed racquet and then unleashed on Ramos.
An unperturbed Osaka ripped off another forehand winner to break serve and open a 4-3 lead as Williams' conversation with Ramos continued. After Williams was deducted a game to trail 5-3, Osaka served it out to triumph in one of the more remarkable grand slam finals ever seen.
Emotions: Both players fought back tears during the trophy presentation.Credit: AP