Naomi Osaka stopped for a moment when asked about her perfect record in the major finals. She had just defeated Serena Williams in the semifinals of the Australian Open and secured her place in her fourth career championship game.
He kept a soft tone of voice, but his message was anything but calm.
“I have this mindset that people don’t remember the runners-up,” he said. “Maybe, but the name of the winner is what is engraved.
“I think I fight harder in the finals. I think that’s where you stand out.”
Osaka did just that Saturday.
Playing American Jennifer Brady in front of a limited but lively crowd at the Rod Laver Arena, the 23-year-old got a 6-4, 6-3 victory in 77 minutes and at the end of the night was raising the his fourth Slam trophy. She and Monica Seles are the only women to have won their first four grand final appearances in the Open era, and now only Serena and Venus Williams remain with major victories among active players, tied with recently returned Kim Clijsters.
“This victory consolidates her as the best player in the world,” said Rennae Stubbs, the four-time doubles champion and ESPN analyst. “That’s what she does. I think there’s no doubt that, certainly on a hard court, she’s as dominant as she’s been a player in the last three years.
“For a while there were these questions about whether she didn’t like the spotlight and whether that would stop her from becoming a dominant player, but we can all put it aside now because that’s clearly not the case. We know she loves it. We know that she can withstand the pressure. We know she likes to be the face of women’s tennis and now she’s the face of women’s tennis. “
While Osaka will not rise to No. 1 in the rankings, due to the pandemic-adjusted points system, and will have to settle for No. 2, the number in front of his name is a mere formality. On Saturday, she left no doubt about her position in the current landscape of women’s tennis.
Osaka was the overwhelming favorite to get into the game, but he knew beating Brady wouldn’t be easy. The two had battled in the semifinals of the US Open in September in a memorable three-set match in which Osaka said he had “never had to fight so much physically or mentally” on the court.
Saturday was easier.
Brady kept the break point at 4 in the first set before Osaka got a decisive first-hand winner on the sidelines. He took the next two points and never hesitated again. He won six games in a row and maintained firm control. Osaka had six aces and 16 winners and was unstoppable at the most crucial moments.
“He played really well when he had to,” Brady said after the game. “He hit good shots when he needed them. In those moments, this is the hardest time to find those shots. You know, to put yourself on the defensive when the big moments are.
“And just to serve the game like that, you know, he did it in New York against me too. Obviously, he has confidence in his service and in the games and in playing high-risk tennis when it matters. So, yes, it’s hard to deal with. “
After Brady’s close-up took a long time to seal the match, Osaka put his hands over his head and leaned back briefly and smiled, his face flooded with joy but no surprises. He confidently trusted and made a gesture to people after exchanging a hug with Brady on the net and knew exactly how to act like a champion. She delivered a friendly victory speech, giving all the proper marks without any awkwardness, except by asking Brady if he wanted to be called “Jennifer” or “Jenny” and then doing the opposite of what she was asking for.
It was a very different scene from his first two Slam titles, at the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Australian Open, where few had expected him to triumph against more experienced opponents.
“The first time I won those two trophies, I think, in a way, I was just a kid,” he said at his postmatch press conference. “I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was winning my matches, but I wasn’t appreciating the moment, the tournament, how hard it is to get even to the position I’m in.”
After catapulting itself to the No. 1 ranking after these important consecutive victories, Osaka struggled under the weight of expectations. She broke up with coach Sascha Bajin and lost in the third round of the French Open. Weeks later, he was given a shocking first-round start at Wimbledon. He left his postmatch press conference in tears and many people in the sport wondered if it was too much success and too much pressure too soon.
He did not dispel doubts with his defeat in the fourth round in New York in 2019 or with a shocking farewell to the third round at the hands of 15-year-old Coco Gauff in Melbourne in 2020. But after the suspension of the season in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, Osaka reevaluated its attitude and priorities. He began talking about issues that mattered to him, including systemic racism and police brutality, and traveled to Minneapolis to protest the death of George Floyd.
When the season restarted in August, Osaka soon rediscovered his confidence on the court while still using his voice. He won his first three games at the Open Western and Southern, the opening tournament of the U.S. Open, and then announced that he would boycott his semifinal match in hopes of creating conversations in the world of tennis around Jacob Blake police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The tournament stopped the game during the day of support.
Before the U.S. Open kicked off a few days later, Osaka reserved seven masks, each with the name of a person killed as a result of racial injustice or police brutality, to wear before and after matches. He was able to take them each during the race to the final and proved to have a message as motivation. He won the tournament.
She has become a prominent advocate, writing published publications and appearing in magazines, while aligning herself with great support one after another.
And he has been unbeatable on the tennis court, without losing since the season restarted. Saturday’s final was his 21st straight victory.
It is the longest winning streak of the WTA Tour since Serena Williams achieved 27 consecutive victories during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Williams has long been the leading figure in women’s tennis (dominating the court, headlines and sponsorship dollars) and has spent the last three years since returning from childbirth trying to regain her throne. But it was Osaka who quietly emerged from Williams’ long shadow to take first place. Forbes ranked her as the highest paid female athlete in the world in 2020.
Osaka’s 6-3, 6-4 victory over Williams in the semis was perhaps the final statement in this regard.
After two unstable opening games, Osaka regained his composure and won the next five, despite dismantling the 23rd major champion with a page from his own playbook, using great services and strong ground hits. When Williams emotionally left the court, provoking questions about his future, it seemed that the torch of being the dominant presence of the game had been officially approved.
There have been 11 different grand champions since Serena Williams won her most recent Slam title at the Australian Open in 2017, with Osaka and Simona Halep (2) the only ones to win several trophies in that period. There has been incessant talk about the depth of women’s play and questions about the ability of the best players to produce consistent results. But Osaka seemed to differentiate even more on Saturday.
Osaka had 50 attendees at the helm of the tournament throughout the fortnight, 15 more than runner-up Serena Williams and 16 more than Brady. He recorded one of the fastest services at 122 mph, and had a win rate in the first service of 79%, the second best in the event.
Osaka has never advanced after the third round at the French Open or Wimbledon, and has admitted that he does not rely so much on clay or grass, but seems more than up for the challenge as he hopes to continue. with his domain.
“The funny thing is, I no longer look at expectations as a burden,” he said Saturday. “I feel like I’m at the time I worked. For example, people wouldn’t expect things from me if they hadn’t done things before, if that makes sense. I feel like no one expected things from me when I was younger, and now that I have climbed a bit in the ranks, of course there will be more pressure, but I also feel that this is motivation, because I also want to do better for myself. “
With deadly service and cold-ice-like behavior under pressure, just like Williams in his day, now Osaka is the one who has no answers for his teammates.