Naomi Osaka wins second Australian Open title after beating Jennifer Brady in devastating style
Naomi Osaka’s second Australian Open victory on Saturday night completed a changing of the guard for women’s tennis – and already places her in elite company.
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The legendary Serena Williams’ successor has officially – and finally – been found.
In Naomi Osaka, women’s tennis has a new face, a new voice and a new superstar, after years of false starts and hope with other players.
Osaka’s second Australian Open title on Saturday night swelled her overall grand slam tally to four, already pushing her past recent greats such as Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Angelique Kerber.
Her 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Jennifer Brady drew her level with Belgian champion Kim Clijsters, too, and she’s only one off the likes of Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis.
In winning her first four grand slam finals, Osaka also joins Roger Federer (first seven) and Monica Seles (six) as the only players in either gender to do so in the Open Era.
That’s seriously heady company, especially for someone of just 23 years.
Australia’s Ash Barty – the 2019 French Open champion – remains the top-ranked women’s player on the computer, but it’s Osaka who is the undoubted torchbearer courtesy of her grand slam titles.
Some very good players have threatened to be the player Osaka has become. Most notably, dual grand slam winners Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova.
Their power-stuffed games and early success promised a swag of grand slam titles, but neither was able to realise that potential.
Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Victoria Azarenka, Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki have ascended to the No. 1 ranking in this time without ever grabbing hold of the Next Serena mantle.
There was even great early hope for Madison Keys, but that hasn’t eventuated.
All of the aforementioned players are stars in their own right, but the bar is incredibly high when you’re discussing someone genuinely taking over from Williams.
Even Osaka struggled with the spotlight after snatching her first two grand slam titles – the 2018 US Open, then the 2019 Australian Open – and rising to world No. 1 for the first time.
Some tough months followed as the Japanese champion adjusted to the surplus expectations.
“I am really grateful for everyone that has been really positive towards me. It was really rough the last couple of months. The kid was depressed out there,” Osaka said in April 2019.
“If there is one positive thing that I can say about myself, it is that I learn quickly.
“Definitely, I’ve put a lot on pressure on myself and found it hard to deal with in the first few tournaments.
“The worst has been the expectation I put on myself, but I think we are good now.”
That much is evident in the way Osaka has powered on at the top of the women’s game, where others stalled after initial grand slam success.
Saturday night’s win was her 21st in a row, the type of streak only the best players maintain, especially when 14 of them are in grand slams.
It’s been fun seeing so many women share the glory in the past decade or so, as Williams continues to chase Margaret Court’s all-time grand slam record.
However, it’s time someone dominates again. Osaka still has work to do to improve on grass and clay, but she’s the player the tour’s been waiting for.
ELITE OSAKA DOES WHAT SERENA COULDN’T
– Scott Gullan
A ruthless Naomi Osaka has claimed her fourth grand slam title after an Australian Open masterclass.
In a significant statement about her being the dominant force of this generation, the Japanese superstar overwhelmed American Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-3 to claim her second crown at Melbourne Park.
Mark the 2021 Australian Open down as the official changing of the guard with Osaka putting her stake in the ground by destroying 23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams in the semi-final.
That left Williams in tears afterwards as reality struck that the 23-year-old Osaka was ready to take her crown.
Confirmation was required in the final and after an intriguing opening set she kept her 100 per cent strike rate in grand slam finals intact.
The victory was Osaka’s 21st in a row and she hasn’t been beaten for over 12 months with a second US Open claimed in that streak.
She is quickly finding herself in rarefied air with the great Monica Seles, the last player to win their first four major finals back in 1990.
“Naomi Osaka’s not just great, she’s especially great in major finals,” Jim Courier said midway through the second set as Osaka’s game went to another level.
“This is her fourth. She’s three for three, going for four for four. If she does that she’ll join some really elite company and players that have won their first four majors in the Open era.
“The other two, Roger Federer, he won his first seven. Monica Selles, she won her first six. No-one else. Of all the great players in the game, no others have won their first four.”
Her second Australian Open victory moved Osaka to No. 2 in the world rankings behind Australia’s Ash Barty who lost in the quarter-finals.
In the lead-up she spoke about her love of the biggest stage and while Brady offered some impressive resistance at times, once the first set was Osaka’s, the writing was on the wall.
Osaka had an incredible 44-1 record in grand slams when she won the first set and was 20-0 at the Australian Open when she got the early advantage.
What an incredible performance to win the AO title @naomiosaka. I wish I could have been there in the stands to see you win your 4th major, you’re an amazing champion. @jennifurbrady95, you had a great summer Down Under. It’s tough now but keep striving, your time will come. 🚀
— Rod Laver (@rodlaver) February 20, 2021
The No. 3 seed jumped out of the blocks early, flexing her muscle against Brady who was making her maiden grand slam final appearance.
Brady, 25, served two double faults to hand Osaka a 3-1 advantage but it was short-lived.
In a sign of things to come the rank outsider showed she was made of the right stuff, breaking straight back.
The match tightened considerably with the pair exchanging powerful groundstrokes before it was Brady who cracked when serving at 4-5.
A double-fault gave Osaka a set point before the 22nd seed netted a simple forehand pass to hand over the critical early lead.
From there everything went according to script with Osaka becoming an unstoppable force, racing to a 4-0 lead which was always going to be a bridge too far for the gallant Brady.
There was no surprise about the closeness of the contest early given the pair played an epic semi-final at last year’s US Open.
Osaka, who won the match in three tight sets, described the match as in the top three of her career.
It was a career breakthrough for Brady who’d previously only reached the fourth round of a grand slam.
And it also confirmed her career makeover and physical transformation after a new dedication to her craft.
This new strength of mind and body was evident when Brady was faced with the challenge of hard quarantine on arrival in Melbourne.
She was one of the unlucky 72 players who were forced to do a 14-day hotel lockdown.
While others whinged and quickly fell by the wayside, Brady remained positive and this attitude helped her produce the best two weeks of her tennis life.
She now breaks into the top 20 for the first time, moving to No. 13 in the world rankings.
Originally published as Naomi Osaka wins second Australian Open title after beating Jennifer Brady in devastating style
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