Warned, penalised a point & then game in 2nd set for coach violation
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.
She tearfully accused him of being a "thief" and angrily demanded an apology from the official.
"You're attacking my character," she said.
"You will never, ever be on another court of mine. You are the liar," she fumed and Ramos handed her a game penalty for a third violation — verbal abuse — that put Osaka one game from victory at 5-3 in the second set.
Williams won the next game, and continued her tearful remonstrations with a supervisor on the changeover.
But Osaka — who displayed not only a stellar game but remarkable poise throughout — held serve to seal a historic win for her country.
‘I don't cheat'
It was in the second game of the second set that Williams was warned for receiving coaching, a charge she vigorously denied.
"I don't cheat to win," she said. "I'd rather lose."
Williams was up 2-1 on the changeover when she spoke again with Ramos appearing to smooth things over, and she finally found a way to break Osaka for a 3-1 lead.
The tranquility didn't last long. When Osaka broke back with the aid of two double faults and a backhand into the net from Williams, the American smashed her racquet to the court. A second code violation came with a point penalty to start the next game that sent her into orbit.
"I didn't get coaching. I haven't cheated in my life. I stand for what's right," insisted Williams as they headed into the sixth game — in which Osaka held at love.
Serena Williams late rin the post match conference insisted she was not cheating in the US Open final on Saturday before accusing the sport which has made her a global icon and multi-millionaire of sexism.
"He alleged that I was cheating, and I wasn't cheating," Williams told reporters later.
"I don't use on-court coaching (where it's allowed at WTA tour events).
"One thing I love about tennis is being out there. It's the one time I don't want to hear anyone tell me anything. You have to figure out. You have to problem-solve."
Fined $17,000
Serena Williams has been fined $17,000 by the US Tennis Association in the wake her outburst during a controversial US Open final loss.
That violation carried a $4,000 fine, while a second violation for racquet abuse — after she smashed her racquet after dropping her serve in the fifth game of the second set — cost her $3,000.
The second violation also cost her a point in the match, sparking her renewed verbal attack on Ramos, a code violation which carried a $10,000 fine.