Australian Open: Naomi Osaka beats Jennifer Brady in women’s final

Japan’s Naomi Osaka cemented her place as the outstanding star of the women’s game by beating American Jennifer Brady in the Australian Open final to win her fourth Grand Slam title.

Osaka edged the first set when Brady, in her first Grand Slam final, paid for some glaring errors in the final game.

The third seed seized control from that point, racing 4-0 ahead in the second set before sealing a deserved victory.

Osaka has now won two Australian Open titles after also triumphing at Melbourne Park in 2019, with her other Grand Slam successes coming at the US Open in 2018 and 2020.

She has not suffered a defeat since February 2020 after extending her winning run to 21 matches.

Osaka’s face lit up with a wide grin, raising her racquet above her head, when she clinched the title on her first match point after Brady looped a return long.

Around 7,500 fans were allowed to watch the final on Rod Laver Arena and Osaka lapped up the acclaim after her US Open victory came behind closed doors.

“It feels incredible to have fans, I played the last Grand Slam without fans, to have this energy means a lot,” said Osaka as she clutched the Daphne Akhurst Trophy.

Osaka is the first women’s player to win her first four Grand Slam finals since Monica Seles in 1991.

And asked if she could reach double figures in slam titles, Osaka replied: “I’m taking it in sections. Right now, I’m trying to go for five. After five I would think about maybe dividing the 10, so maybe seven or eight.

“I like to take things not big picture. I know that the people that I’m playing against are the best players in the world and, if my time comes to win another Grand Slam, it will come.”

Osaka proves again why she is seen as ‘an inspiration’

Softly-spoken Osaka has emerged as the sport’s biggest star in recent times and illustrated that yet again with another Grand Slam victory.

On the court, her clean hitting and clear thinking has proved too much for her opponents to handle.

Off the court, she has grown into one of the world’s most marketable athletes and found her voice to become a prominent social activist.

“I feel like the biggest thing that I want to achieve is playing long enough to play a girl that said that I was once her favourite player,” said Osaka.

“I think that’s the coolest thing that could ever happen to me. I just think that that’s how the sport moves forward.”

In her runners-up speech, Brady said Osaka was “an inspiration to us all”.

“What she is doing for the game is amazing. I hope young girls are watching and inspired by what she is doing,” Brady said. – bbc.com