Naomi Osaka showed Jennifer Brady absolutely no mercy as she pulverised the American to win an Australian Open bloodbath.
Naomi Osaka has done it again.
The Japanese wrapped up grand slam title number four - and her second Australian Open crown - by thumping Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-3 in the final at Melbourne Park.
A tight first set made way for a bloodbath in the second set as Osaka ran riot to cement her status as the undisputed queen of women's tennis.
Osaka dropped the hammer in the second set, breaking at her first opportunity to go up 2-0 before upping the ante and bulldozing her way to 4-0.
But Brady wasn't willing to give up, breaking back to give herself a chance – however slim – at 1-4.
Things continued on serve until 3-5 but Osaka wasn't going to let the opportunity slip and sealed a straight sets win with ease.
Naomi Osaka blitzed through her opening service game to love and Jennifer Brady was on track to do something similar, racing to a 40-0 lead on her own racquet.
But she stumbled and was forced into a couple of deuces, before holding her nerve and getting on the board for 1-1.
Osaka held easily again but Brady dropped to 0-40 in her next service game and a double fault – her third in two games – handed her opponent an easy break.
Osaka double faulted herself at deuce in the next game, then clunked a backhand halfway up the net to gift Brady a break of her own. The American was far more assured in her next service game and held confidently for 3-3.
Brady was struggling to land her first serves and the frustration was getting to her. She yelled out in anger about what was happening on serve, while the 25-year-old was also struggling with the breeze on court.
Multiple times she had to redo her ball toss, unable to throw it up exactly where she wanted. Osaka had the same issue, but not as often as the American.
Brady then choked badly – hitting a double fault, a forehand past the baseline and another forehand into the net all in a row – as Osaka broke again to win the opening set 6-4.
Oh no. Brady dumps a putaway volley into the net that gifts the first set to Osaka, 6-4. Unfortunate end to the opener. #AusOpen
— Nikhila (@kokudum) February 20, 2021
Naomi Osaka is in the best shape of her life as she prepares to throw down with Jennifer Brady in the Australian Open final.
Her power is something to behold and she's moving around the court with ease, adding to an already frightening arsenal of weapons at her disposal.
The world No. 3's trainer Yutaka Nakamura used to work with Russian champion Maria Sharapova and didn't think he'd want to work with another tennis player after the five-time major winner quit the sport, but what he's seen in Osaka made him glad he stuck around.
“Naomi is an unbelievable athlete,” Nakamura told Simon Briggs of the UK Telegraph. “She is explosive, agile, and that’s why I compare her to a Formula One car.
"People say that her 120mph serve (193km/h) and her forehand are her weapons, but I think her speed can be a weapon too.
“I worked with Maria Sharapova for eight years. Maria built her legacy on the court. But with Naomi, it’s just another level. As an athlete but also as an activist, she has a different voice and she has a different vibe.
“After Sharapova, I thought I had enough of travelling around the world and being with athletes one-on-one. I had dedicated my life to the tour, and I didn’t see how anyone could go above and beyond Sharapova. But when I started working with Naomi, I thought, ‘This is a different experience'.”
Japan’s Naomi Osaka will take her perfect record in grand slam deciders into the Australian Open final, where she will attempt to make it four out of four at the expense of America’s Jennifer Brady.
A second trophy at Melbourne Park would mean the 23-year-old has won half the majors she’s contested since her first slam title at the US Open final in 2018 – an infamous match forever remembered for Serena Williams’ implosion.
Osaka’s demolition of Williams in the semi-finals ended the 39-year-old’s latest attempt to win a record-equalling 24th major, and reinforced the belief that the Japanese world No. 3 heads a generation that is taking over from the American.
The quirky but increasingly confident Osaka has never lost after reaching the last eight of a grand slam, and is riding a 20-match winning streak that dates back a year.
She is now aiming to become the first woman’s player since Monica Seles to win her first four grand slam finals.
“I have this mentality that people don’t remember the runners-up,” Osaka explained.
“I think I fight the hardest in the finals. I think that’s where you sort of set yourself apart.”
Osaka is hot favourite against 22nd seed Brady, who is making her grand slam final debut after serving 14 days’ hard quarantine before the tournament, unlike other players who were allowed out of their hotel rooms to train.
The pair first clashed as juniors in Florida seven years ago, when Brady won. Osaka has won both their matches since with their rivalry hitting new heights in the second of those, last year’s epic US Open semi-final.
Eventual champion Osaka prevailed 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 6-3 in a nerve-jangling encounter, dubbed by some as the best match of the truncated 2020 season.
“Was probably (in the) top two matches I’ve played in my life,” Osaka said of the classic at Flushing Meadows.
“I think the matches I remember the most when I’m having a very hard time. I think about that match a lot.”
Brady says that loss in New York changed everything for her, giving her the belief that she can compete with the best in the sport as she rejected any notion she feels inadequate compared to her opponent.
"When I'm playing matches now, I'm never in doubt about whether I can win the match or not," Brady told WTA Insider. "I believe the match is on my racquet, that it's within my control.
"It's different. I'm not stepping out there and hoping that my opponent doesn't play well or that I play great tennis. Instead, it's just me controlling my emotions, being in control of the points and my game and myself.
"Having confidence from that match that I played against Naomi in the semis, I think that match may have changed my life and my outlook on how I approach showing up at grand slams.
"When I go out there, she's not going to overpower me. She's not going to play unbelievable tennis where I can't find my game. When I go out there, it's having the mentality that I'm not beneath her. I have a chance of winning."
Third seed Osaka believes she has sharpened her game since then, which will be crucial to blunt the strong-serving American.
“I play a little bit different now,” said Osaka.
“I think my returns are better. I can’t fully base everything on that match, but definitely it’s something to reference.”
Brady, 25, has not faced a higher-ranked player in her run to the final, helped by the exits of world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and defending champion Sofia Kenin on her side of the draw.
Having not lost a set until her three-set thriller against Karolina Muchova in the semis, Brady knows she is in for a fight against a player she long believed was destined for stardom.
“We grew up playing junior local tournaments in Florida,” she said. “I remember playing her, I was, like, ‘Wow, she hits the ball huge. She’s going to be good. She’s got something special'.”
Brady, who “didn’t really like” tennis as a youngster, but rekindled her love for the sport at college, has revelled in self-belief since her breakthrough in New York, but admitted the cauldron of a slam final will be a new experience.
“I don’t know how I’m going to feel on Saturday,” she said.
“There are going to be moments, games, points where I’m going to be thinking … ‘Wow, this could be my first grand slam title.’”
Despite being two years younger, Osaka is more experienced on the highest stage and said she has learned to be calmer about big-match occasions.
“I used to weigh my entire existence on if I won or lost a tennis match,” she said. “That’s just not how I feel any more.”
With AFP
Engaged tennis power couple Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter have set pulses racing after an intimate exchange on social media.
The fallout from Novak Djokovic’s tumultuous Australian Open campaign has continued with his Davis Cup captain demanding action.
A global TV giant is set to be erased from screens with the likes of Jim Courier and John McEnroe caught in the middle.