Chicago Tribune (Sunday)

She’s 4 real: Osaka is true Slam dunk

23-year-old remains perfect in Slam finals with 4th title

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MELBOURNE, Australia — The trouble for Naomi Osaka at Grand Slam tournament­s comes in Week 1. Get beyond that stage at the hard-court majors, though, and start preparing to etch her name on the trophy.

Osaka won her fourth title in her past eight appearance­s at a Slam, emerging from what initially was a tight Australian Open final and pulling away by grabbing six consecutiv­e games to beat Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday.

With strong serving that produced six aces, Osaka improved to 4-0 in major 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 quarterfin­als, semifinals and finals at the majors.

“She played really well when she had to,” Brady said. “She hit good shots when she needed them.”

Osaka, t he 2020 AP Female Athlete of the Year, is also on a 21-match winning streak that dates to last season. That includes a championsh­ip at last year’s U.S. Open. She also won the U.S. Open in 2018, and the Australian Open in 2019.

“Tonight it wasn’t meant to be,” Brady said after participat­ing in her first Grand Slam final at age 25. “Hopefully there’s many more.”

The 23-year-old Osaka was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father, and moved to the United States with her family when she was 3.

She was seeded No. 3 at Melbourne Park and is now assured of moving up to No. 2.

Only two active women own more Slam titles than Osaka: Serena Williams, with 23, and her sister, Venus, with seven.

Next task for Osaka is improving on clay and grass: She’s never been past the third round at the French Open or Wimbledon.

“She’s such an inspiratio­n to us all, and what she’s doing for the game is amazing in getting the sport out there,” said Brady, an American who was seeded 22nd. “I hope young girls at home are watching and inspired by what she’s doing.”

Brady had to go through a hard quarantine 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 big step up in competitio­n during this tournament for Brady, who had not faced anyone ranked in the Top 25 nor anyone who previously appeared in so much as one Grand Slam semifinal.

Brady’s only previous final four appearance at a major came at the U.S. Open in September, when she lost to Osaka in three sets.

She wasn’t able to push the champ as much this time.

“I told everyone that would listen that you’re going to be a problem — and I was right,” Osaka told Brady with a chuckle, after asking her whether she prefers to be called Jenny or Jennifer. “To see your growth over the past few months is really cool for me to see.”

During the pre-match coin toss, the silver women’s trophy stood on a clear, plastic pedestal not far from Osaka on her side of the net.

After beating Serena Williams in the semifinals, Osaka had made her intentions clear: “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.”

And she keeps making sure that name is hers.

It was cooler than it’s been in Melbourne recently, with the temperatur­e down below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) and a breeze that made serve tosses difficult for both players, who would catch the ball instead of hit it and say, “Sorry!”

The stadium was allowed to be at half capacity — about 7,500 people — after spectators were barred entirely earlier in the tournament for five days during a COVID19 lockdown.

“Thank you for coming and watching. It feels really incredible for me,” said Osaka, whose 2020 U.S. Open title came in empty stadiums. “I didn’t play my last Grand Slam with fans, so just to have this energy, it really means a lot.”

 ?? ANDY BROWNBILL/AP ?? Naomi Osaka celebrates after defeating Jennifer Brady during the women’s singles final Saturday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia.
ANDY BROWNBILL/AP Naomi Osaka celebrates after defeating Jennifer Brady during the women’s singles final Saturday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia.

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