Osaka learning to live with being one of the game’s major forces

Naomi Osaka will continue to tread her own path but the Japanese star’s fourth grand slam title at the Australian Open puts her in rarefied company.

Osaka maintained her perfect record in slam finals with a 6-4 6-3 victory over first-time finalist Jennifer Brady, adding a second title in Melbourne to the two US Open trophies she owns.

The 23-year-old is just the third player in the Open era to win her first four slam finals after Monica Seles and Roger Federer and, on being told that fact, she said with a smile: “My reaction is that that’s very amazing company.

“I hope that I can have one grain of how their career has unfolded.

“You can only wish and you can only just keep going down your own path. But it’s definitely something crazy to hear.”

Osaka remains behind Ashleigh Barty in the rankings because of the temporary switch to a two-year system but there is no doubt she is the best player in the world on hard courts.

Osaka struggled to deal with her new-found status after winning back-to-back slam titles in New York and Melbourne in 2018 and 2019 but she has become comfortable with her position and the expectations placed upon her.

She said: “The first time that I won both these trophies, in a way I was just a kid. I didn’t really know what I was doing.

“I was winning my matches but I wasn’t really appreciating the moment, the tournament, how hard it is to even get to the position that I’m in right now.

“So I would say the ups and downs in my career definitely opened my eyes a lot. I don’t look at expectations as a burden any more.”

Naomi Osaka with the Australian Open trophy.