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Perhaps this was the way to go: the Chinese tennis pioneer pbades the torch to the Japanese Osaka, one of Asia's biggest sports stars and a major force in the world, for many years to come.
She will also become Monday the new world No. 1, the first player in her country to have managed the feat.
Rare exploit
Osaka has now tied the future Hall of Famer Li in the two-on-two majors and has done something that has not been seen before in women's sports in 18 years, winning her first two Grand Slam titles.
The 21-year-old is only the sixth player at the time, joining Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, Hana Mandlikova, Venus Williams and most recently Jennifer Capriati in 2001.
Goolagong observed Rod Laver Arena while Evert was in Melbourne commenting for ESPN.
When asked why she was able to support her daughter when the others fought, Osaka replied, "When I play my game, everything else is gone, for me, you dream of playing in the big slams.
"I never want to lose this opportunity, so these are the most important motivators for me."
Boos rained from the crowd in the Big Apple during the trophy ceremony after Williams clashed with chair referee Carlos Ramos in the second set.
A different drama at the time, little to do with winners or non-forced mistakes.
Osaka was left in tears, although on Saturday she seemed to shed tears of joy. There was no boos for any participant.
"In New York, the majority of the crowd was for Serena," said Osaka. "Here, we felt that they were a bit apart.I honestly, when I was playing (Kvitova) and that the audience was for us both, I was very happy at the same time. I was just trying to focus on the game. "
Against the vast majority of players, she was the one who would have received the trophy of the winners of her good friend Li.
"It hurts a lot today," Kvitova told reporters, citing Saturday's defeat. "I wanted to win and win the trophy, but I think I have already won two years ago, so for me it is incredible, I think I still do not realize that I played the final.
"I've been through a lot of things, not really good, I did not know if I was going to hold the racket again, I'm holding it, so that's fine."
Let's hope that two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova will have more chances to win a third victory and a first since that horrible race.
But finally, this fortnight belonged to Osaka.
Continuous progression
The way the Japanese star won her is an example of her impressive continuous progression, starting with how she rebounded after Kvitova saved those three match points to force a third.
"I thought that if I change the game, it's probably on my side," Kvitova said.
Indeed, it seemed that all this would escape Osaka, who committed a double fault to end the second set after two cords of the net were opposed to his service at 5-6. A break in the bathroom ensues.
But she broke 3-1 in the third and caught on, despite Kvitova's bleaching to save three consecutive points at 2-4.
So, how did Osaka forget the second set?
"I can not really do the right thing," she says. "Playing against one of the best players in the world, losing a set, suddenly thinks that I'm so much better than her, that's not a possibility."
Adding to the drama, raindrops began to fall while Osaka was trying to serve the contest. She was successful, finishing with a winner of the service in the middle to end the two-and-a-half hour battle.
In total, she hit nine aces and led the women's event with a total of 59.
Even before the third set, when she needed to raise her game to earn break points in the first – five of them – she had duly produced the goods at the fifth and seventh games.
When she needed to recover quickly after missing two runs at 5-6, she also did, playing a tie-break without fail.
What was the importance of the first set? Osaka has now won 60 matches in a row by hanging in the first round.
Defeats for the Czechs in the final are extremely rare, having held a record of 26-7 early in the proceedings and winning his last eight.
Stellar game
No one, with the exception of Osaka, took the departure from Kvitova in Melbourne.
The final served as an extension of Osaka 's resilience this fortnight. An obstacle after the other has been overcome.
She has doubled twice to win in the matches after only twice last season.
These two victories were opposed to the unorthodox styles of Hsieh Su-Wei and Anastasija Sevastova.
Osaka and Novak Djokovic were the winners of the singles at the US Open and this double is still a possibility in Melbourne, as the Serb faces Rafael Nadal in the blockbuster final on Sunday.
The duo is combined for 31 majors.
Osaka can not compete with that for the moment, but according to his performances at the last two major leagues, other similar titles are coming.
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