Serena Williams, in her post match interview, intimated that she kind of felt bad over the awkwardness that enveloped the awarding ceremony to crown the new US Open Tennis champion, Naomi Osaka of Japan.
I feel bad about the whole situation too. The young champion from Japan deserved to celebrate her triumph in a rather "celebratory" mood. Whether or not it was Serena's fault this time is not my issue. Love her or hate her, she seems to - often, if not always - draws attention toward herself. It's not a matter of whether it's proper or not, either. Or whether the tempest was called for or not. In those tense moments, when the champion fights for every point to win another Major, you will feel for Serena this time.
To Serena's credit, she made an effort to placate the crowd and dissipate the boos. Then again, I think damage has been done, at least at that moment. I'd like to think Osaka would find a way to celebrate her win. As for Serena, she has to learn to transcend the memories of this championship, and the "c'mon" penalty in 2011, and the "foot fault" call in 2009, and the "Advantage Capriati" calls in 2004, should she decide to play another US Open championships in the future, and win the trophy all over again.
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