*Folks, the future is clear as far as who’s going to rule women’s tennis in the near future and beyond. Bottom line: Naomi Osaka is the future. The Japanese/Jamaican/American star proved that with her fourth grand slam title at the Australian Open on Saturday (02-20-21)
Simply put, Osaka maintained her perfect record in slam finals with a 6-4 6-3 victory over first-time finalist Jennifer Brady, adding a second title in Melbourne to the two US Open trophies she owns.
Osaka, just 23, is only the third player in the Open era to win her first four slam finals after Monica Seles and Roger Federer. And what was her typical low-key reaction to that bit of news:
“My reaction is that that’s very amazing company,” she said with her signature smile/grin. “I hope that I can have one grain of how their career has unfolded. You can only wish and you can only just keep going down your own path. But it’s definitely something crazy to hear.”
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When @naomiosaka became our 2021 Women’s Singles champion ????#AO2021 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Id3ZZhaJHh
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 20, 2021
But for a technicality (the temporary switch to a two-year system), Osaka remains behind Ashleigh Barty in the rankings, but there is no doubt she is the best player in the world on hard courts.
Speaking on Eurosport, former world number one Mats Wilander said he expects Osaka to reach double figures in slam titles, saying: “I think she has 10 in her, minimum, I really do.”
“Hopefully I play long enough to play a girl that said I was once her favourite player.”@naomiosaka is winning Grand Slams and inspiring tennis stars of the future ????✨#AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/BaYA3JkZhx
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 20, 2021
It wasn’t that long ago that Osaka struggled to deal with her new-found status after winning back-to-back slam titles in New York and Melbourne in 2018 and 2019 but that was then. These days she has become comfortable with her position and the expectations placed upon her.
She said: “The first time that I won both these trophies, in a way I was just a kid. I didn’t really know what I was doing.
“I was winning my matches but I wasn’t really appreciating the moment, the tournament, how hard it is to even get to the position that I’m in right now.
“So I would say the ups and downs in my career definitely opened my eyes a lot. I don’t look at expectations as a burden anymore.”
Not that she will be getting ahead of herself when it comes to major titles.
“I’m taking it in sections,” she said. “For right now, I’m trying to go for five. After five I would think about maybe dividing the 10, so maybe seven or eight.
You can read/learn more about Naomi Osaka’s Australian Open victory at Yahoo!sports.
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