Brady, Osaka bring power to Australian Open final
Whether or not Naomi Osaka earns another major championship by winning this Australian Open — and make no mistake, she will be the favorite in the women’s singles final Saturday — this much seems certain: Tennis has a new dominant force.
Sure, it’s clearly possible the third-seeded Osaka could be beaten by No. 22 seed Jennifer Brady in the title match at Melbourne Park, an event that will require most viewers in the United States to stay up late or rise early for a live look with ESPN’s telecast at 3:30 a.m. Eastern.
Brady is, after all, an emerging force on hard courts, too, thanks to the 25-year-old American’s big serve and big forehand. She pushed Osaka to three sets before losing to her in the U.S. Open semifinals last September, then shrugged off a two-week hard quarantine in Australia to reach her first Grand Slam final. Brady needed five match points to get past 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Thursday’s semifinals, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
It was Osaka, though, who overpowered and overwhelmed Serena Williams in straight sets.
It’s also Osaka who is riding a 20-match winning streak dating to last season, already has spent time at No. 1 in the WTA rankings and is seeking her second Australian Open title and fourth Grand Slam trophy.
Like Williams — whose 23 Grand Slam singles titles are the Open-era record and second only to Margaret Court’s 24 for the all-time mark — there is a determination that Osaka manages to display when the finish line is near on their sport’s most important stages: The 23-yearold from Japan has run her singles record in the majors to a combined 11-0 in quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
Osaka often speaks about wanting more consistency, whether that’s at lower-level tournaments or at every major. She has occasionally stumbled early in the latter events, including a third-round exit a year ago when she was trying to repeat in Australia as well as a first-round loss at Wimbledon in 2019. Once she gets close to the end, however, she has sealed the deal.
“For me, I have this mentality that people don’t remember the runners-up. You might, but the winner’s name is the one that’s engraved,” explained Osaka. “I think I fight the hardest in the finals. I think that’s where you sort of set yourself apart.”
Williams had been 8-0 in Australian semis until Osaka put a stop to that by winning 6-3, 6-4, reeling off the last eight points of the match after the second set was even at 4. When they hugged at the net at the end, this is what went through Osaka’s mind: “Always a surreal moment, just to see her in real life, like, close up.”
Osaka has long viewed the 39-year-old Williams as an idol. Their games are quite similar in many ways: speedy serves, dangerous forehands and that steely attitude on court. Brady got a sense of that during the entertaining matchup in New York last year against Osaka.
“She just puts a lot of pressure on you to serve well, because she’s holding serve in, like, 45 seconds. … She’s coming at you with a lot of power, so it also puts a lot of pressure on you to be aggressive and try to get the first strike. Otherwise you’re the one running, and I don’t want to be running,” Brady said. “She just puts a lot of pressure on you to perform well.”
Djokovic aims for No. 18
Novak Djokovic had a perfect record in Australian semifinals, and he was playing almost flawless tennis to protect it.
It didn’t matter that across the net was Aslan Karatsev, a 114th-ranked, 27-year-old Russian who had come through qualifying to make his Grand Slam debut after nine failed attempts. Djokovic made only one unforced error in more than 50 minutes.
It was tight for the first seven games Thursday — before the top-ranked Djokovic reeled off eight straight points to win the first set — and again when Karatsev went on an all-or-nothing roll late in the second set. Sensing a shift in support for the underdog, Djokovic moved up a gear and finished off his opponent 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
The 33-year-old from Serbia is now one win from a ninth Australian title and 18th Grand Slam championship. He’ll face either No. 4 Daniil Medvedev or No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final.