Naomi Osaka won her second Australian Open title over the weekend with a straight-sets 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jennifer Brady in the 2021 Australian Open women\u2019s final on Saturday at Melbourne Park. This marks the fourth Major title of her soaring career and the continuation of her win streak, now up to an impressive 21 matches. Osaka also won the 2020 U.S. Open, giving her back-to-back major titles for the second time\u2014a feat she pulled off in the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Australian Open.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old superstar played at her peak\u2014or very close to it\u2014this past weekend, overwhelming her opponent with heavy, pace-laced strokes, especially off-angled backhands.<\/p>\n
Osaka held the advantage over 26-year-old Brady in almost every major statistical category in the championship match, including winners (16-15), aces (6-2) and break points converted (4-2).<\/p>\n
This was Brady\u2019s first appearance in a Grand Slam final. She had been steadily on the rise, reaching at least the semifinals in her two previous Grand Slam events. The 26-year-old had never advanced beyond the fourth round before last year\u2019s U.S. Open. She took the loss gracefully, saying at the ceremony\u2019s end: \u201cTonight it wasn\u2019t meant to be. Hopefully there\u2019s many more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s tennis may wonder who will take over from the Big Three once they retire. The women\u2019s game seems to have its heir to Serena Williams in Osaka. She defeated her hero, Serena Williams, to advance to the final. This is her fourth major title in the last eight she has entered\u2014but she has ascended with a Williams-esque blend of power, athleticism and cold-blooded resolve.<\/p>\n
If you could invest in sports, you would call your broker and load up on women\u2019s tennis. Right now, the driving force is Osaka. She came into this year as the highest-earning female athlete in the world. If she continues at this level, she\u2014and by extension women\u2019s tennis\u2014will only ascend. Already, Osaka is an ambassador for Nike, Mastercard and Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer. She was spotted wearing a TAG Aquaracer during her match with Brady and a TAG Heuer Carrera 160th Anniversary Special Edition for the awards presentation.<\/p>\n
Osaka was grateful that her latest triumph came with fans in the stands, after winning the U.S. Open without spectators amid the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t play my last Grand Slam with fans, so just to have this energy\u2014it means a lot,\u201d Osaka said during the trophy presentation. \u201cThank you so much for coming. I feel like playing a Grand Slam is a super privilege right now and it\u2019s something I won\u2019t take for granted. Thank you for this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
It feels like Osaka has now established herself as the player to beat on tennis\u2019s biggest stages, especially considering her semifinal victory over Serena Williams, who held that unofficial title for around two decades.<\/p>\n
Next up on the Grand Slam schedule is the French Open, slated to start on 23 May at Stade Roland Garros in Paris.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Naomi Osaka won her second Australian Open title over the weekend with a straight-sets 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jennifer Brady in the 2021 Australian Open women\u2019s final on Saturday at Melbourne Park. This marks the fourth Major title of her soaring career and the continuation of her win streak, now up to an impressive 21…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":90061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11443,1064,16111],"class_list":["post-101514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-couture","category-sport-fitness","category-watches-jewellery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n