She won 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 53 minutes. She broke Azarenka in the third set, then got broken back, then broke her again and served out the match. This was Azarenka's third US Open final and the third loss for her.
Azarenka's dominance in that first set cannot be overstated. In just 27 minutes, she had taken the first set against a player eight years her junior, who was just two years removed from last winning this tournament. Her ability to locate her returns seemingly wherever she wanted to visibly frustrated Osaka, and it looked like an approach the 22-year-old just had no answer for. This even spilled into the second set early, but the young star quickly adjusted herself to make the comeback.
Once Osaka woke up from her self-described bad attitude, it seemed like there was no chance for Vika to storm back. Yes, both players were making what appeared to be nerve-induced mistakes, but the energy that had Osaka playing on her back heels was no longer there for Azarenka after her opponent was able to take four straight games in the second set to mount her comeback.
Here is what Naomi Osaka said after winning the final:
"I want to congratulate Vika. I don't want to play more finals with you, it was really tough, I didn't enough much (chuckles). It is inspiring I used to watch you play here.
"I want to thank my team for helping me with this. I want to thank everyone at USTA for providing a safe environment.
"I want to thank all my people at home - my mom, dad, and sister - I wouldn't be here without you.
"(On going back to the court and lying on her back) I always see everyone collapse after the match point. But I didn't want to injure myself, so you know safely (chuckles).
"I just thought it would be embarrassing to lose in under an hour so I just thought I have to play better and have a better attitude.
"(About her stand on racism) What message you got from it is the more important question. The point is to make people start talking. For me, I have been inside the bubble so I don't really know what's going out there but the more retweets it gets on social media, I mean it's lame, but more people talk about it."
Azarenka was understandably heartbroken after her third US Open final loss. She said:
"I thought it was a third-time charm but I guess I will have to try again. Congratulations to Naomi, it was incredible two weeks for you. I hope we meet again in the final.
"Not an easy time in the world and so, I am grateful to have played here. Really blessed for this.
"I want to thank my team for sticking with me. We are going to have a lot more fun in the coming weeks."