Naomi Osaka paused for a moment when asked about her perfect record in the grand final. She had just defeated Serena Williams in the Australian Open semi-finals and secured her place in her fourth career championship battle.
She kept a soft voice, but her message was anything but quiet.
“I have the mentality that people do not remember the runners-up,” she said. ‘Maybe, but the name of the winner is the name engraved.
“I think I fight the hardest in the final. I think this is where you differentiate yourself.”
Osaka just did that Saturday.
The 23-year-old American Jennifer Brady played in front of a limited but lively crowd in the Rod Laver Arena and rolled in 77 minutes to a 6-4, 6-3 victory and towards the end of the night her fourth Slam trophy hoisted. She and Monica Seles are the only women to have won their first four final games in the Open era, and she now only follows Serena and Venus Williams with big wins among active players, equal to the recently returned Kim Clijsters.
“This win strengthens her as the best player in the world,” said Rennae Stubbs, the four-time doubles champion and analyst at ESPN. “That’s what it does. I think there’s no doubt that she’s, certainly on a hard track,’s being as dominant as a player over the last three years.
” There were some questions about her for a while that she did not like the spotlight and whether it would prevent her from becoming a dominant player, but we can all just move aside now, because that is clearly not the case. . We know she likes it. knows she can handle the pressure. We know she likes to be the face of women’s tennis, and she is now the face of women’s tennis. ‘
Although Osaka will not rise to number 1 on the rankings due to the pandemic-adjusted points system, and will rather have to settle for number 2, the number before her name is a mere formality. On Saturday, she left no doubt where she stands in the current landscape of women’s tennis.
Osaka was the overwhelming favorite to take part in the match, but she knew it would not be easy to overtake Brady, the first finalist. The two struggled in the semi-finals of the US Open in September in an unforgettable three-series match in which Osaka said she “never had to fight so hard physically and mentally” on the track.
Saturday was more straightforward.
Brady scored a break point of four points in the first set before Osaka put out a decisive winner. She takes the next two points and never falls again. She won six consecutive games and still remained in control. Osaka had six aces and 16 winners and were indelible in key moments.
“She played really well when she had to,” Brady said after the game. “She hit good shots when she needed them. In those moments, it’s the hardest time to find those shots. You know, to defend yourself when those are the big moments.
“And just to serve the game that way, you know, she did it to me in New York, too. She’s obviously confident in her assignment and to carry out matches and play high-risk tennis if it matters. So “Yes, it’s hard to face. ‘
After Brady’s appearance lasted a long time to seal the match, Osaka put her hands above her head and leaned back briefly and smiled, her face teeming with joy but no hint of surprise. She turned and waved confidently and comfortably to the crowd after exchanging a hug with Brady at the net and knowing exactly how to act like a champion. She gave a gracious victory speech and hit all the right points without a hint of discomfort, except that she asked Brady if she would be called ‘Jennifer’ or ‘Jenny’ and then wanted to do the opposite of what she asked.
It was a very different scene than the one after her first two Slam titles, during the 2018 US Open and the Australian Open in 2019, where few expected her to triumph against more experienced opponents.
“The first time I won both of these trophies, I think in a way, I was just a kid,” she told her news conference. “I did not really know what I was doing. I won my matches, but I did not really appreciate the moment, the tournament, how difficult it is to even get to the position I am in at the moment.”
After Osaka ranked to the No. 1 rankings after those consecutive victories, Osaka struggled under the weight of expectations. She divorced coach Sascha Bajin and lost in the third round of the French Open. Weeks later, she got a shocking exit at Wimbledon. She left her news conference in tears with many in the sport and wondered if it was just too much success and pressure too soon.
She does not doubt the doubt with her fourth loss in New York in 2019 or a shocking farewell of the third round in the hands of 15-year-old Coco Gauff in Melbourne in 2020. But after the suspension of the season in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, Osaka re-evaluated her attitude and priorities. She begins speaking out on issues that matter to her, including systemic racism and police brutality, and travels to Minneapolis to protest the death of George Floyd.
When the season starts again in August, it will not be long before Osaka rediscovers her confidence in court as she continues to use her voice from it. She wins her first three matches at the Western & Southern Open, the leading tournament for the American Open, and then announces that she will boycott her semi-final in the hope of creating a conversation in the tennis world around the police shooting of Jacob Blake. in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The tournament interrupted the game for the day in support.
Before the U.S. Open kicked off a few days later, Osaka had 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. She was able to carry each one during her run to the final, and she recognized a message as motivation. She won the tournament.
She became a prominent lawyer, writing op-eds and appearing in magazines, while garnering great support one after another.
And she has been unbeatable on the tennis court and has not lost since the season started again. Saturday’s final was her 21st consecutive victory.
This is the longest winning streak on the WTA Tour since Serena Williams scored 27 consecutive wins spanning the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Williams has long been the leading figure in women’s tennis – dominating the court, headlines and sponsor screens – and has been on the throne for the past three years since returning from childbirth. But it was Osaka who quietly came out of Williams’ long shadow to take first place. Forbes named her in 2020 as the highest paid female athlete in the world.
Osaka’s 6-3, 6-4 victory over Williams in the semifinals was perhaps the last statement on the matter.
After two shaky opening games, Osaka regained their composure and won the next five – all but breaking down the 23-time grand champion with a page from her own playbook, with great coverage and powerful foundation. When Williams leaves court emotionally and raises questions about her future, it looks like the torch has been officially passed to be the game.
There have been 11 different major champions since Serena Williams won her most recent Slam title at the Australian Open in 2017 – with Osaka and Simona Halep (2) the only ones to win several trophies in that team. There was incessant talk about the depth in the women’s game and questions about the ability of the top players to deliver consistent results. But Osaka seems to distinguish itself further.
Osaka had a leading 50 aces over the two weeks – 15 more than Serena Williams in second place and 16 more than Brady. She recorded one of the fastest ministries at 122 km / h and achieved a 79% victory percentage for the second best at the event.
Osaka has never made it through the last round during the French Open or Wimbledon, and she has admitted that she is not so confident on clay or grass, but she seems more than the challenge because she hopes to continue her dominance.
“The funny thing is, I no longer look at expectations as a burden,” she said on Saturday. “I feel like I’m at the point where I worked now. People wouldn ‘t expect things from me if I did not do things before, if it makes sense. I feel like no one expected things from me when I was younger was, and now that I have climbed into the ranks like this, there will of course be more pressure, but I feel like it is also motivation, because I also want to do better for myself. “
With a deadly serve and a cold-as-ice attitude under pressure – like Williams in her prime – Osaka is now the one to which her peers have no answers.