MELBOURNE, Australia – Naomi Osaka’s trouble at Grand Slam tournaments comes in week 1. When she’s past that stage at the hard court majors, get ready to etch her name on the trophy.
Osaka won her fourth title in her last eight appearances in a Slam, emerging from an initially tight Australian Open final and withdrew by taking six consecutive games, beating Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday.
With a strong serve that yielded six aces, Osaka improved to 4-0 in the grand finals, the first woman to start her career that way since Monica Seles did it 30 years ago. For Osaka, that is part of a 12-0 record so far in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals with the majors.
“She played really well when she had to,” said Brady. “She took good shots when she needed them.”
Osaka, the AP Sportswoman of the Year 2020, also has a winning streak of 21 games dating back to last season. That includes a championship at last year’s US Open. She also won the US Open in 2018 and the Australian Open in 2019.
“It shouldn’t have been this way tonight,” said Brady after competing in her first Grand Slam final at the age of 25. “Hopefully there are many more.”
Osaka, who is 23, was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, and she and her family moved to the United States when she was 3.
She was placed at No. 3 in Melbourne Park and is now guaranteed to move up to No. 2.
Only two active women have more Slam titles than Osaka: Serena Williams, 23, and her sister Venus, seven.
The next job for Osaka is to improve clay and grass: she has never made it past the third round at the French Open or Wimbledon.
“She’s such an inspiration to all of us, and what she’s doing for the game is great in bringing the sport out,” said Brady, an American placed 22nd. “I hope young girls will watch at home and be inspired by what she’s doing.”
Brady was quarantined for 15 days when she arrived in Australia in January because someone on her flight tested positive for COVID-19 when they arrived.
This was a major leap forward in competition at this tournament for Brady, who had not seen anyone in the top 25, nor anyone who had appeared in just one Grand Slam semifinal before.
Brady’s only previous semi-final appearance in a major came at the US Open in September, when she lost to Osaka in three sets.
She couldn’t push the champion that much this time.
“I told anyone who would listen that you were going to be a problem – and I was right,” Osaka said with a chuckle to Brady, after asking her if she would rather be called Jenny or Jennifer. “It’s really cool to see how you have grown in recent months.”
During the prematch toss, the women’s silver trophy stood on a clear plastic base not far from Osaka on her side of the net. After beating Serena Williams in the semi-finals, Osaka had made her intentions clear: “I have the mentality that people don’t remember the number two. Maybe so, but the winner’s name is the one engraved.”
And she always makes sure that name is hers.
It was cooler than recently in Melbourne, with a temperature below 20 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) and a breeze making it difficult to catch the ball instead of hitting it and “Sorry!” To say.
The stadium was allowed to stand at half capacity – about 7,500 people – after spectators had been completely banned from the tournament during a COVID-19 lockdown five days earlier.
“Thanks for coming to see it. It really feels unbelievable to me,” said Osaka, whose US Open title came into empty stadiums in 2020. “I didn’t play my last Grand Slam with fans, so to have this energy it really means a lot.”
In the men’s final on Sunday (7.30pm local time, 3.30am ET on ESPN and ESPN App), No. 1 Novak Djokovic will be looking for his ninth Australian Open championship and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall. He will take on number 4 Daniil Medvedev, who is leading a winning streak of 20 matches to his second grand final.
On Saturday, the women’s game ended at 4-all when Brady used an on-the-run lob winner who she interrupted by waving her arms to request more noise from the crowd. That provided a breaking point – convert that, and she would serve for the opening set.
But Osaka erased the opportunity with a cross-court forehand winner, and two errors by Brady made it 5-4.
Osaka then broke to take the set, aided by Brady’s double fault and a netted forehand on a short ball to end it.
“Happens maybe one in ten times,” Brady said of that mistake, “or hopefully less.”
That was part of the six-game run that gave Osaka a 4-0 lead in the second, and she was on her way.
“She plays so aggressively that she puts such pressure on you to perform well,” said Brady, “and that’s something not every tennis player can do.”