Naomi Osaka stopped for a moment when asked about her perfect record in the major finals. He had just defeated Serena Williams in the semifinals of the Australian Open and secured her place in the fourth career championship match.
She kept a gentle tone, but her message was anything but calm.
“I have this mentality that people don’t remember the second ending,” she said. “It could be, but the name of the winner is the one that is engraved.
“I think I fight the hardest in the final. I think you distance yourself there.”
Osaka did exactly that Saturday.
Playing American Jennifer Brady in front of a limited but lively crowd at Rod Laver Arena, the 23-year-old won 6-4, 6-3 in 77 minutes and by the end of the night she was up. fourth Slam trophy. She and Monica Seles are the only women to have won the first four major final appearances in the Open era and now only follow Serena and Venus Williams with major victories among active players, tied with Kim Clijsters, recently returned.
“This victory strengthens him as the best player in the world,” said Rennae Stubbs, a four-time major doubles champion and ESPN analyst. “She does. I think there is no doubt that, certainly on difficult ground, she is as dominant as a player in the last three years.
“There have been these questions for a while about whether she doesn’t like the spotlight and whether that would stop her from becoming a dominant player, but we can all just put them aside now, because that’s clearly not the case. We know he likes it. Let’s know he can handle the pressure. We know he likes being the face of women’s tennis, and now he’s the face of women’s tennis. “
Although Osaka will not rise to number 1 in the rankings due to the pandemic-adjusted points system and will have to settle for number 2, the number in front of her name is a simple formality. On Saturday, he left no doubt where he is in the current landscape of women’s tennis.
Osaka was the overwhelming favorite to enter the match, but he knew that the passage for the first time of the finalist Brady will not be easy. The two fought in the US Open semifinals in September in a memorable three-set match in which Osaka said that “he never had to fight so much physically and mentally so hard” on the field.
Saturday was simpler.
Brady held the break point to 4-all in the first set before Osaka hit a decisive winner directly on the edge. He took the next two points and never wavered again. He won six games in a row and remained firmly in control. Osaka had six aces and 16 winners and was impenetrable in the most important moments.
“He played really well when he had to,” Brady said after the game. “He hit good shots when he needed them. In those moments, this is the hardest time to find those shots. You know, to defend you when the moments are big.
“And just to serve the game like that, you know, he did that in New York against me. Obviously, she trusts in serving her and in matches and playing high-risk tennis when it matters. So, yes, it is difficult to deal with. “
After Brady’s right hand went a long way to seal the match, Osaka put his hands over his head and leaned back briefly and smiled, his face full of joy, but without signs of surprise. She turned confidently and comfortably and waved to the crowd after exchanging a hug with Brady at the net and knew exactly how to act like a champion. He gave a graceful victory speech, hitting all the correct signs without a hint of clumsiness, except that he asked Brady if he wanted to be called “Jennifer” or “Jenny” and then do the opposite of what he asked.
It was a very different scene from the one after his first two Slam titles, at the US Open 2018 and Australian Open 2019, where few expected to be triumphant against more experienced opponents.
“The first time I won both trophies, I think in a way I was just a kid,” she said at the post-match press conference. “I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was winning my matches, but I didn’t really appreciate the moment, the tournament, how hard it is to get to where I am now.”
After catapulting into the ranking no. 1 after those major victories behind, Osaka struggled below expectations. He broke up with coach Sascha Bajin and lost in the third round of the French Open. Weeks later, he was given a shocking exit from the first round at Wimbledon. She left her post-match press conference in tears, with many in the sport wondering if it was simply too much success and pressure too soon.
She did not dispel doubts about losing in the fourth round in New York in 2019 or a shocking third-round farewell at the hands of 15-year-old Coco Gauff in Melbourne in 2020. But after the season suspension in March due to In the coronavirus pandemic, Osaka reassessed its attitude and priorities. She began talking about issues that were important to her, including systemic racism and police brutality, and traveled to Minneapolis to protest George Floyd’s death.
When the season started again in August, Osaka did not last long until he rediscovered his confidence in the field, continuing to use his voice. She won the first three matches at the Western & Southern Open, the main tournament for the US Open, and then announced that she would boycott the semifinal match in hopes of creating a conversation in the world of tennis around Jacob Blake’s police shooting. in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The tournament interrupted the game to support the day.
Before the US Open began a few days later, Osaka set aside seven masks, each bearing the name of a person killed as a result of racial injustice or police brutality, to wear before and after matches. He managed to wear them all while running to the final and believed that he had a message as motivation. He won the tournament.
She has become a prominent lawyer, writing opinions and appearing in magazines, while aligning one major support after another.
And she was unbeatable on the tennis court, without losing since the resumption of the season. Saturday’s final marked the 21st consecutive victory.
It is the longest winning streak in the WTA tournament since Serena Williams achieved 27 consecutive victories in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Williams has long been a leading figure in women’s tennis – dominating the field, titles and sponsorship dollars – and has spent the last three years since returning from birth trying to claim her throne. But Osaka quietly stepped out of Williams’ long shadow to take first place. Forbes listed her as the highest paid female athlete in the world in 2020.
Osaka’s 6-3, 6-4 victory over Williams in the semifinals was probably the final statement in this regard.
After two shaky opening games, Osaka regained her composure and won the next five – all, but dismantled the major champion 23 times with a page from her own game, using great serve and strong base shots. As Williams left the court emotionally, raising questions about her future, it seemed that the torch of being the dominant presence of the game was officially passed.
There have been 11 different big champions since Serena Williams won the most recent Slam title at the Australian Open in 2017 – with Osaka and Simona Halep (2) the only ones to have won several trophies in that span. There was constant talk about the depth of women’s play and questions about the ability of top players to produce consistent results. But Osaka seemed to differentiate itself even more on Saturday.
Osaka had a leading tournament of 50 aces over the two weeks – 15 more than Serena Williams, second and 16 more than Brady. She recorded one of the fastest servings at 122 mph and scored 79% on the first serve for the second best at the event.
Osaka has never advanced after the third round of the French Open or Wimbledon and has admitted that it is not as confident on clay or grass, but it seems more than ready for the challenge, as it hopes to continue. domination.
“The funny thing is, I don’t look at expectations as a burden anymore,” she said on Saturday. “I feel like I’m working for something. For example, people wouldn’t expect things from me if I hadn’t done things before, if that makes sense. I feel like no one was expecting things from me. me when I was younger and now that I went up a bit in a row, of course there will be more pressure, but I feel that it is also motivation, because I also want to do better for myself. “
With deadly service and ice-cold behavior under pressure – just like old Williams – Osaka is now the one for which her colleagues have no answers.