Naomi Osaka’s quest for the company of legends

Should Naomi Osaka maintain her perfect record in major finals on Saturday night, she will elevate herself above several champions of the past decade.

American Jennifer Brady will take on Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the women’s final

Should Naomi Osaka maintain her perfect record in major finals on Saturday night, she will elevate herself above several champions of the past decade.

As Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have furthered their status as legends since 2010, Osaka is among a quartet of players to win three majors.

Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova added to their hauls at the start of the decade, but Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray all claimed three grand slam titles.

The Japanese star, who won the US Open in 2018 and 2020, will be seeking a second Australian Open title when she plays American Jennifer Brady on Rod Laver Arena.

Osaka is a dominant $1.20 favourite, having started the tournament as the top choice at $6.

The 23-year-old was on the brink of an earlier-than-expected exit when facing two match points against dual-major winner Garbine Muguruza in the fourth round.

But she finished that match remarkably, dominated Su-Wei Hsieh in a quarter-final and was then too strong for Williams in the semi-final.

“For me, (during) this tournament I honestly haven’t felt panicked until I played Muguruza, so I think that match really helped me,” she said.

The right-hander is playing with power and precision from the baseline, though her serve has been awry on occasion.

A prime example came against Williams when she served three double-faults late in the second set to give the 39-year-old a brief lifeline.

But those moments have been the exception. Unbeaten in a grand slam from the quarter-finals onward, Osaka’s mindset in deciders is one of a champion.

“I have this mentality that people don’t remember the runners-up. You might, but the winner’s name is the one that’s engraved,” she said.

“I think I fight the hardest in the finals. I think that’s where you sort of set yourself apart. It’s like the biggest fight.”

Brady deserves significant credit for reaching a maiden grand slam final, though her career trajectory over the past 15 months indicated she was capable of reaching this stage.

A graduate of UCLA, the American trained at Chris Evert’s academy in Florida for a period, where her coaches advised her that she had the talent to become a champion.

It has taken her time to mature. As she said following her three-set win over Karolina Muchova on Thursday, she had a “temper as a kid” and “wasn’t mentally the toughest”.

A decision to move from the heat and humidity of Florida to train in Germany with renowned coach Michael Geserer in the lead-in to the 2020 season has been a key to her emergence as a contender.

She arrived in Brisbane, which is one of her favourite events given the similar conditions to Florida, and promptly defeated Sharapova and Ash Barty last year.

When the tour resumed last August, Brady won a maiden WTA Tour title in the US and then reached the semi-finals of the US Open, where she fell to Osaka in three sets.

That temper and mental fragility? It is clearly behind her. Brady was forced to serve strict quarantine and was unable to train for a fortnight leading into the Australian Open.

Where others complained, she remained disciplined. She would have porridge in the morning, then order fish every day from a local Melbourne restaurant.

The Weekend Australian has been told by a leading Australian Open official that Brady was genuinely a delight to deal with, despite being among those at a significant disadvantage due to the differences in quarantine.

It is also clear she is well-liked among her peers including Barty, who is her doubles partner.

She received messages of congratulations on social media from several players including Jess Pegula, the friend she defeated in a quarter-final on Wednesday.

“I think it was more just trying to stay positive and knowing that there are worse things out there than being in a room,” she said.

The pair have clashed three times. Brady won the first encounter in a low-tier event in 2014 when both were teenagers.

Osaka has no memory of the match. Her rival remembered suspecting the player she had just beaten might be something special.

Their most recent outing in New York suggests the final will be closer than the bookmakers consider.

The Japanese champion said it was her best performance of the US Open. And that was just good enough for her to proceed. Brady is certainly up for the challenge.

“I can say I can enjoy the moment and just try to play tennis and not really think too much about it,” she said.

“But there’s going to be moments, there’s going to be games, there’s going to be points where I’m going to be thinking about, ‘Wow, this could be my first grand slam title’.

“I will definitely have those thoughts. But it’s more just trying to control the emotions, really.”