Naomi Osaka won the Australian Open 2021 by beating Jennifer Brady with the final score of 6-4 6-3. This is the twenty-first victory in a row for the Japanese and her di lei second victory di lei in New York-Melbourne, already won between 2018 and 2019.
With this result, Osaka returns to world no.2 for the first time since September 2019, while Brady will be # 13. The Japanese is the seventh to win the Slam downunder after saving match points. This is the seventh tournament she won in her career di lei out of 10 finals played.
In the press conference, the Japanese talked about several topics. She said: "My main goal is, although it may sound weird, to play long enough to face a girl who said that I was once her favorite player or something. I came into this tournament focusing exclusively I've learned that, both on and off the court, it's okay not to be sure of yourself.
As far as I'm concerned, I feel like I've always forced myself to be strong or something.
Naomi Osaka: "I hope to have a career as Roger Federer"
I think if you don't feel well, it's okay not to feel good. But you have to look inside yourself and try to understand why.
That's what I did during the quarantine before the Us Open last year and that's what I did here too when I was in quarantine. At a time. For me now the goal is to get to five. If I had to win the fifth then maybe I would aim for seven or eight.
I always try not to enlarge the picture too much. Of course it's an honor that I said that, but I don't want to burden myselfof pressures and expectations. I try to control what I can control, which is to work hard and create opportunities for myself.
Four Grand Slams out of four finals as before you have only Monica Seles and Roger Federer managed to do? I'd say I'm in good company! I hope I can have a career even remotely comparable to theirs. I hope on clay-courts because it is the one that comes first.
I feel I still have to learn to be comfortable on those surfaces. This is the fundamental thing for me because I didn't play as a junior and therefore I grew up without playing on grass-courts at all. I honestly think I might have better luck on clay because I haven't played badly in the past. It's just something I have to get used to."