Japan’s Naomi Osaka has claimed back-to-back Grand Slam titles, after she added the Australian Open to her US Open crown.
The 21-year-old from Japan recovered from a dramatic second-set collapse to defeat Kvitova 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-4 victory on Rod Laver Arena.
After dropping her opening service game against Serena Williams in the semifinals, Osaka literally blinded the 39-year-old American with a flurry of unstoppable winners off her handle.
More of that aggressive brand of tennis was on view against the 24-ranked Brady but the latter was equal to the task.
Coming into the Australian Open final, the Japanese World Number 3 held a marginal 2-1 advantage in head-to-head battles with the 25-year-old American.
Osaka crushed American Jennifer Brady in straight sets to win her second Australian Open title on Saturday.
Keen to lay down a marker early in the big final, Osaka opened the proceedings with a clinical service game.
Showing confidence from her semifinal win, Brady ran up a 40-0 lead but Osaka reduced the deficit to 30-40 before leveling the game at deuce. The Japanese followed up with her first breakpoint.
However, the American managed to bring it back to deuce before serving out the game to go 1-1 in the first set.
Another interesting piece of trivia going into the title clash, especially considering that the year’s first Grand Slam is a hard-court affair, was that the two were tied 1-1 in terms of matches played on concrete surfaces.
Brady had stunned Osaka in straight sets in a WTA hard court event in the US in 2014.
Also her defeat in the US Open last-four had whetted the 25-year-old’s appetite to even the score at Melbourne Park.
Osaka’s win stopped the run of eight different consecutive Grand Slam title winners, as she also became the youngest woman since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 to be ranked No 1 in the world.
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