Naomi Osaka stopped for a moment when asked about her perfect record in the main finals. She had just beaten Serena Williams in the Australian Open semifinals and secured her spot in her fourth championship fight.
She kept her tone soft, but her message was anything but calm.
“I have the mentality that people don’t remember runners-up,” she said. “You can, but the name of the winner is the one that is recorded.
“I think I fight harder in the finals. I think that’s where you stand out.”
Osaka did exactly that Saturday.
Playing against American Jennifer Brady in front of a limited but lively crowd at the Rod Laver Arena, the 23-year-old achieved victory 6-4 6-3 in 77 minutes and by the end of the night was lifting her fourth trophy of Slam. She and Monica Seles are the only women to win their first four appearances in important finals in the Open era, and now she is second only to Serena and Venus Williams with important victories between active players, tied with Kim Clijsters.
“This victory solidifies her as the best player in the world,” said Rennae Stubbs, four-time doubles champion and ESPN analyst. “This is what happens. I think there is no doubt that, certainly on a hard court, she is as dominant as a player for the past three years.
“For a while, there were these questions about her not liking the spotlight and whether it would prevent her from becoming a dominant player, but we can all put that aside now, because it is clearly not the case. We know she loves it. We know that she can take the pressure. We know she likes to be the face of women’s tennis and now she is the face of women’s tennis. “
Although Osaka does not move up to position 1 in the ranking, due to the pandemic-adjusted points system, and instead has to settle for position 2, the number in front of his name is a mere formality. On Saturday, she left no doubt about her position on the current women’s tennis scene.
Osaka was the big favorite to get into the fight, but she knew that going through the debutant finalist Brady would not be easy. The two fought in the US Open semifinals in September, in a memorable three-set match in which Osaka said he “never had to fight so physically and mentally” on the court.
Saturday was simpler.
Brady kept the breakpoint in 4-all in the first set before Osaka hit a decisive forehand winner for the sideline. She took the next two points and never wavered. She won six games in a row and remained firmly in control. Osaka had six aces and 16 winners and was unperturbed at the most crucial moments.
“She played very well when needed,” said Brady after the match. “She hit good kicks when she needed them. In those moments, it’s the hardest time to find those kicks. You know, put yourself on the defense when the big moments are.
“And just to get the game out like that, you know, she did it in New York against me as well. She obviously has confidence in her service and matchmaking and in playing high-risk tennis when it matters. Hard to face.”
After Brady’s forehand was long to seal the match, Osaka put his hands over his head and briefly leaned back and smiled, his face flooded with joy, but no sign of surprise. She turned and waved confidently and comfortably to the crowd after exchanging a hug with Brady on the net and knew exactly how to act like a champion. She gave a graceful victory speech, hitting all the right marks without a hint of embarrassment, except to ask Brady if she wanted to be called “Jennifer” or “Jenny” and then do the opposite of what she asked.
It was a very different scene than after her first two Slam titles, at the US Open 2018 and Australian Open 2019, where few expected her to triumph against more experienced opponents.
“The first time I won these two trophies, I think, in a way, I was just a child,” she said at a news conference after the match. “I really didn’t know what I was doing. I was winning my games, but I wasn’t enjoying the moment, the tournament, how difficult it is to get to where I am right now.”
After catapulting to position number 1 after these consecutive victories, Osaka struggled under the weight of expectations. She separated from coach Sascha Bajin and lost in the third round of the French Open. Weeks later, she had a shocking departure from the first round at Wimbledon. She left her post-fight press conference in tears, with many in the sport wondering if it was just too much success and pressure too soon.
She didn’t settle her doubts with her loss in the fourth round in New York in 2019 or a shocking farewell in the third round at the hands of Coco Gauff, 15, in Melbourne in 2020. But after the season’s suspension in March due to the pandemic of coronavirus, Osaka reevaluated his attitude and priorities. She started talking about the issues that mattered to her, including systemic racism and police brutality, and traveled to Minneapolis to protest George Floyd’s death.
When the season resumed in August, it didn’t take long for Osaka to rediscover his confidence on the court while continuing to use his voice outside of it. She won her first three games at the Western & Southern Open, the leadership tournament for the US Open, and then announced that she would be boycotting her semifinal match in hopes of creating a conversation in the tennis world around the police shooting against Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The tournament paused the game of the day in support.
A few days later, before the start of the US Open, Osaka separated seven masks, each with the name of a person killed as a result of racial injustice or police brutality, to wear before and after the games. She was able to use each one during her run to the final, and she credited having a motivational message. She won the tournament.
She became a prominent advocate, writing opinion articles and appearing in magazines, while lining up one major endorsement after another.
And she is unbeatable on the tennis court, not losing since the start of the season. Saturday’s final marked his 21st consecutive victory.
It is the longest winning streak on the WTA Tour since Serena Williams achieved 27 consecutive wins in the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Williams has long been the leading figure in women’s tennis – dominating the courts, headlines and sponsorship dollars – and has spent the past three years since returning from childbirth, trying to regain his throne. But it was Osaka who silently emerged from Williams’ long shadow to claim 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 perhaps the final statement on the matter.
After two unstable opening games, Osaka regained his composure and won the next five – almost dismantling the 23-time main champion with a page from his own manual, using large serves and powerful ground strokes. As Williams left the court emotionally, raising questions about his future, it seemed that the torch to be the dominant presence in the game had officially been passed.
There have been 11 different top champions since Serena Williams won her most recent Australian Open Slam title in 2017 – with Osaka and Simona Halep (2) the only ones to win multiple trophies in that period. There is constant talk about the depth of women’s football and questions about the ability of top players to produce consistent results. But Osaka seemed to differentiate further on Saturday.
Osaka had 50 leading aces in the tournament over the fortnight – 15 more than runner-up Serena Williams and 16 more than Brady. She recorded one of the fastest serves at 122 km / h and had a winning percentage in the first serve of 79% for the second best in the event.
Osaka never advanced beyond the third round at the French Open or at Wimbledon, and she admitted that she is not so confident on clay or grass, but looks more than ready for the challenge as she hopes to continue her dominance.
“The funny thing is that I no longer see expectations as a burden,” she said on Saturday. “I feel like I’m at the point now where it’s something I worked for. Like, people wouldn’t expect things from me if I hadn’t done things before, if it makes sense. I feel like nobody expected things from me when I was younger, and now that I kind of climbed the rankings, of course there will be more pressure, but I also feel that this is motivation, because I also want to do better for myself too. “
With a deadly plunder and ice-cold behavior under pressure – much like Williams at his peak – Osaka is now one to which his colleagues have no answers.