News, Reviews, Headlines for the world of Tennis (tennis news)
 | Fourth Slam title for the unstoppable Naomi Osaka21-02-2021 |
Last year`s richest athlete Naomi Osaka won her fourth Grand Slam title after 6:4, 6:3 over Jennifer Brady in front of 7, 477 spectators at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in the final of the Australian Open.
At just 23 years old, the Japanese already has two triumphs in Australia and two more in the US Open, extending her winning streak to 12 games after the round of 16 of the Slam tournaments. She will climb to number 2 in the world rankings, ahead of Simona Halep, and became the seventh tennis player in history to win a major trophy after previously saving a matchball. For Osaka, this happened in the fourth round against Garbine Muguruza. The Japanese is the first of Monica Seles in 1991 to win her first four Slam finals.
Brady, who spent a strict two-week quarantine in Melbourne, still has every reason to feel satisfied with her performance at the Australian Open, where she registered her first major final in her career. She will rise to 13th place in the world rankings, and is now only the fifth woman out of the top 20 since 2000 to reach the final phase in Melbourne. However, she could not become the 55th different champion.
In the first set, Osaka managed to break through first for 3-0, but then the nerves did not allow her to consolidate her advantage and Brady returned to the set. However, the American cracked at the most inopportune moment at 5:4 in favor of her opponent and allowed a breakthrough. He was challenged entirely by unprovoked mistakes by Brady, who suffered a setback at the beginning of the second set.
Osaka immediately took the lead with two breakthroughs, but then had problems with his first serve and allowed a break, although he maintained his advantage in the result. At 40-30 and 4:2 Brady had a chance to reach at least a deuce, but he missed a forehand and had to serve to stay in the final. She did, but then Osaka closed the game convincingly to zero for her fourth Slam title.
Fourth Slam title for the unstoppable Naomi Osaka