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Naomi Osaka has refused to lose in the quarterfinals and beyond in Grand Slam tournaments. Jennifer Brady went further than ever at a Grand Slam event. Now they will face off for the 2021 Australian Open title.
Third seed Osaka defeated 23-time major champion Serena Williams, 6-3, 6-4, in the Australian Open semifinals on Thursday, advancing to the fourth Grand Slam final of her career and putting himself at a win of his second. Crown of the Australian Open.
Brady, 22nd seed, survived a longer battle in her semi-final affair, as she outlasted 25th seed Karolina Muchova, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to qualify for his very first Grand Slam final.
Osaka and Brady will now face off on Saturday for the first major trophy of the year, with Osaka holding a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head rivalry. Their last meeting was a three-set classic at last year’s US Open, where Osaka had to fend off a fiery challenge from their opponent in Brady’s first-ever major semi-final.
Osaka is now 11-0 in his career after reaching the quarter-finals at major events. Every time she had reached this stage of a Grand Slam event – US Open 2018, Australian Open 2019 and US Open 2020 – she hoisted the championship trophy.
“I have this mentality that people don’t remember the finalists,” Osaka said in his post-match press conference. “You could, but the winner’s name is the one engraved.”
Osaka, who has won three of the last five Grand Slam titles on hard court, needed an hour and 15 minutes to counter the challenge of former world number one Williams, who was aiming for a record-breaking 24th Grand Slam title this week. As their power plays clashed, it was Osaka who had the advantage on the day, hitting 20 winners to Williams’ 12, while making three fewer unforced errors.
Williams, a seven-time Australian Open champion, was 8-0 in the Australian Open semifinal during her legendary career, but won her first loss in this round Down Under against Osaka. 10th seed Williams, playing her historic 20th Australian Open tournament, was unable to reach her 34th Grand Slam final and ninth Australian Open final as she fell to 1-3 for life against Osaka.
“There was a point where I broke today, and I was going all the way to the line to do her favor, in my head I was having all these thoughts about how she is the best server, I probably won’t be able to break it, “Osaka said.” But that’s what it is.
“Then I thought to myself erase those thoughts and just, like, in a way that I was like telling myself that I don’t care because I can only play one point at a time and I’m gonna do my best. to play every point as well as I can. “
In fact, it was Williams who got off to a quick start, hitting a strong backhand to force an Osaka error and a break in the opener, then consolidating with ease for 2-0. Williams was one point away from a 3-0 lead, with a double break before Osaka strengthened to enter the scoreboard.
“I felt like I was starting to make way too many unforced errors because I was worried about what she would do if I had to hit a softball,” Osaka said. “I think when it was like 2-0 I was just telling myself to control what I can control and try to play in myself instead of thinking about what she would do or something like that . “
From there, Osaka took control of the first set. After two tough games to get a 3-2 lead, Osaka claimed a break point with a backhand on the line, then criticized a forehand winner to score a fourth game in a row and lead 4-2. A series of fierce forehands had a big effect on Osaka’s first set point, as she took the lead in a set.
Osaka blew up a backhand winner to shatter Williams in Game 1 of the second set, and she took a 4-2 lead from there. The third seed was not yet out of the woods, however, as she missed multiple double faults at 4-3, which Williams took advantage of to come back 4-4.
In the next game, however, Osaka regained control, winning in rallies with moving winners to beat again for 5-4. With the momentum picked up, Osaka launched a love service game to clinch victory and return to the Australian Open final, two years after their title race.
Looking forward to Brady, Osaka said their clash at the 2020 US Open was “easily one of my most memorable games. I think it was just really high quality. For me, it wasn’t. is not really surprising to see her in another semi-final or another final. “
For Brady, her victory represented a direct progression from the last hard-core major, where she reached the last four at the 2020 US Open before falling to Osaka. Taking it even further this week, she now becomes the seventh woman to reach a first Grand Slam final in the past nine majors.
Brady was in great shape throughout the fortnight, conceding just 26 road games for the final four, the fewest games abandoned among the semi-finalists. Crafty Czech Muchova, who was playing her first Grand Slam semi-final, pushed Brady to the limit, but it was the 25-year-old American who prevailed in a match that took a shadow in less than two hours.
In a hotly contested opening set, Brady used his heavy forehand to secure a 2-0 lead before Muchova immediately counterattacked to return to serve, helped by a double fault from Brady at the break point. The pair remained on serve until 5-4, where a solid comeback gave Brady a set point. Muchova gave up the set with her first double fault at the most inopportune moment.
Muchova, however, immediately grabbed the momentum in the second set, recording some excellent returns to shatter Brady in the opener. The Czech didn’t let go, never faced a breaking point and won her eight second serve points in the set. A winning comeback from the baseline gave Muchova a set point at 5-3, and this time around it was Brady who double faulted to end that period.
At the decider, Brady’s early break seemed to set the tone, as the American took a 2-1 lead and never faced another 5-4 break point. However, Muchova rushed to the forecourt with aplomb to polish the points, standing at bay with her mix of skillful net play and power jerking.
An exciting final game began, as Brady made his way to four match points as Muchova’s precise return helped him fend off each of those points. Muchova also had three break points in the gripping 18-point game, but she couldn’t stop Brady from converting her fifth match point when a ball from Muchova flew long.
More soon….
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