21 February,2021 07:24 AM IST | Melbourne | AFP
Japan’s Naomi Osaka celebrates with the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after beating USA’s Jennifer Brady in the Australian Open final at Melbourne on Saturday. Pics/AFP
Japan's Naomi Osaka said she's living her "dreams" on Saturday after defeating Jennifer Brady to win the Australian Open, adding that she'll celebrate with anime and pizza.
The 23-year-old won her fourth Grand Slam title after a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 victory in 77 minutes at Rod Laver Arena. Osaka, who will rise to second on the world rankings, becomes only the third player after Monica Seles and Roger Federer to win their first four major finals.
The Japanese survived a seesaw start to gain control, reeling off six straight games en route to the title. It was a rematch of last year's epic US Open semi-final, described by some as the best match of 2020, but Osaka triumphed far more comfortably on this occasion.
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Before the match, Osaka had pinpointed her return as the key, but she was helped out by a shaky Brady who lost her serve in the fourth game after two double faults.
Having grown up watching the Australian Open at "crazy hours" in the United States, Osaka said it felt "surreal" to triumph for the second time at Melbourne Park.
"I'm really just living my dreams," she told Channel Nine. "I'm always shaking a little bit [at the end]. Thank God I had three match points."
Reinforcing her reputation herself as tennis's leading light, having won four of her last eight Slams she's played, Osaka warned she was not satisfied. "I take every tournament seriously," she said.
"I just want to be consistent and that is my main goal this year." Amid an uncertain schedule, Osaka said she hoped to play the Tokyo Olympics. "Everyone knows I wanted to play in the Olympics since I was a kid and hopefully it goes through," she said.
After her triumph, Osaka planned a low-key celebration. "I'm probably going to watch some anime...maybe [eat] pizza...and go to sleep."
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