23-year-old Naomi Osaka from Japan beat American Jennifer Brady in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 at the Rod Laver Arena in 77 minutes to win the 2021 women’s singles at the Australian Open. In the process, she won her second Australian Open and her fourth Grand Slam.
She had earlier won the Australian Open in 2019 whereas she has won two US Open titles in 2018 and 2020. Brady, meanwhile, was appearing in her first Grand Slam final.
“It feels incredible to have fans, I played the last Grand Slam without fans, to have this energy means a lot,” said Osaka as she clutched the Daphne Akhurst Trophy.
“I feel like playing a Grand Slam is a privilege.”
She had earlier defeated Serena Williams in the semifinal to advance to the finals.
𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉.
When @naomiosaka became our 2021 Women's Singles champion 🏆#AO2021 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Id3ZZhaJHh
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 20, 2021
In exemplary form, Osaka has not suffered a defeat since February 2020 and her victory over Brady was her 21st successive match win. She has also remained unbeaten in the finals of Grand Slams.
The highest paid female athlete in the world, Osaka becomes only the third player after Monica Seles and Roger Federer to win their first four major finals. She will now rise to second in the world rankings.
With this win, Osaka has cemented her place as one of the best tennis players of her generation and is being hailed as the ‘the undisputed queen of the hard courts.’
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