By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After getting past her childhood idol Serena Williams during the 2021 Australian Open women’s singles semifinals, Naomi Osaka still had one final hurdle to grand slam supremacy.
Entering the Aussie Open finals as the favorite, Osaka nabbed the championship title against Jennifer Brady, 6-4, 6-3.
Both Osaka and Brady, at 23- and 25-years old respectively, grinded it out for the grand slam title in an hour-long display of youthful skill.
The world no. 22 Brady showed good tennis in the first set but faltered midway after dropping her service game and let Osaka capitalize on every error she committed.
Since then, the Japanese tennis star held all her services into the second half, preventing another set extension to finish the championship showdown in just two sets.
“Thank you for coming and watching. It feels really incredible for me. I didn’t play my last Grand Slam with fans, so just to have this energy, it really means a lot,” said Osaka.
