MELBOURNE, Australia: problems for Naomi Osaka at Grand Slam tournaments come in week 1. Although, as she gets beyond this stage on the hard track, she begins to prepare to record her name in the trophy .
Osaka won its fourth title in its last eight appearances in a Slam, which came out of what was initially a tight final of the Australian Open and withdrew taking six consecutive games to beat Jennifer Brady by 6 -4 and 6-3 on Saturday.
With a strong serve that produced six aces, Osaka improved to 4-0 in the main finals, the first woman to start her career this way since Monica Seles did it 30 years ago. For Osaka, this is part of a 12-0 record so far in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals in the majors.
“He played really well when he had to,” Brady said. “He hit good shots when he needed them.”
Osaka, the AP 2020 women’s athlete of the year, also has a 21-game winning streak dating back to last season. This includes a championship at last year’s U.S. Open. He also won the U.S. Open in 2018 and the Australian Open in 2019.
“Tonight wasn’t supposed to be,” Brady said after taking part in his first Grand Slam final at 25 years old. “I hope there are many more.”
Osaka, 23, was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father and moved to the United States with his family when he was 3 years old.
She was ranked No. 3 at Melbourne Park and is now confident of moving on to No. 2.
Only two active women hold more Slam titles than Osaka: Serena Williams, 23, and her sister, Venus, seven.
Osaka’s next task is to improve the clay and grass: he had never passed the third round at the French Open or Wimbledon.
“She’s an inspiration to all of us, and what she’s doing for the game is amazing in bringing out the sport,” said Brady, a 22nd-ranked American. – be in what you do “.
Brady had to go through a harsh quarantine for 15 days when he arrived in Australia in January because someone on his flight tested positive for COVID-19 when he arrived.
This was a big step in the competition during this tournament for Brady, who had not faced anyone ranked in the top 25 or anyone who had previously appeared in a Grand Slam semifinal.
Brady’s only final appearance in a major came at the U.S. Open in September, when he lost to Osaka in three sets.
This time he couldn’t push the champion so much.
“I told everyone I heard that there would be a problem, and I was right,” Osaka told Brady with a laugh, after asking if he’d rather be called Jenny or Jennifer. “Seeing your growth over the last few months is a lot of fun for me to see.”
During the pre-match coin toss, the women’s silver trophy was placed on a transparent plastic pedestal, not far from Osaka, next to the net. After beating Serena Williams in the semifinals, Osaka had made his intentions clear: “I have this mentality that people don’t remember the runners-up. Maybe, but the name of the winner is what’s engraved.”
And he continues to make sure that name is his.
It was cooler than it has been done recently in Melbourne, with a temperature below 20 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) and a breeze that made it difficult for both players to throw the ball instead of hitting it. they would say, “I’m sorry!”
The stadium was allowed to have an average capacity (about 7,500 people) after spectators were totally banned during the tournament for five days during a COVID-19 closure.
“Thank you for coming to see it. It feels amazing to me,” said Osaka, whose 2020 U.S. Open title hit the empty stadiums. “I didn’t play my last Grand Slam with the fans, so just having that energy really means a lot.”
In the men’s final on Sunday (7:30 pm local time, 3:30 am ET on ESPN and ESPN App), No. 1 Novak Djokovic will seek his ninth Australian Open championship and 18th Grand Slam trophy of the general. He faces No. 4 Daniil Medvedev, who leads a 20-win streak in his second major final.
On Saturday, the women’s match closed at four, when Brady used a lob winner who scored by waving his arms to ask for more noise from the crowd. This gained a breaking point: convert it and she would serve for the initial set.
But Osaka cleared the opportunity with a cross front-line winner and two errors from Brady made it 5-4.
Then Osaka broke through to grab the set, aided by Brady’s double foul and ahead with a short ball to finish it off.
“Maybe it happens one in ten,” Brady said of that mistake, “or I hope it’s less.”
That was part of the six-game day that put Osaka ahead 4-0 in the second and was on its way.
“She plays so aggressively that she puts so much pressure on her to work well,” Brady said, “and that’s something not all tennis players have that ability to do.”