adminMELBOURNE. — Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka stormed into the Australian Open final yesterday to set up a battle with Czech comeback queen Petra Kvitova for the Melbourne Park crown and world No. 1 ranking.
The 21-year-old outgunned seventh seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach her second successive Grand Slam decider after a breakthrough triumph over Serena Williams at last year’s US Open.
Osaka took the first set then held off a barnstorming comeback by Pliskova, who survived four set points to eliminate Williams on Wednesday but could not manage another miracle turnaround less than 24 hours later.
“I expected it, I expected a really hard battle,” Osaka said of Pliskova’s attempted return from a set and a break down to extend a 10-match winning streak.
Fourth seed Osaka admitted the never-say-die Czech rattled her but she drew on her experience winning a major at Flushing Meadows to settle her nerves.
“Somehow I made it. I just told myself to regroup in the third set and try as hard as I could no matter what, and I managed to win.”
Osaka is seen as the leader of a new generation of stars but victory in her maiden Slam was overshadowed by Williams’ raging rows with the umpire in the final at Flushing Meadows.
Victory tomorrow would make her the first woman since Williams in 2015 to win the US and Australian Opens back to back, burnishing her Grand Slam credentials and confirming her superstar status.
The roof of Rod Laver Arena was closed amid sweltering temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 Farenheit) and Pliskova believed it gave Osaka an edge.
“The conditions with the roof closed were perfect for her,” she said. “It wasn’t bad for me but maybe she just loved it little bit more.
“It was tough. Maybe a couple of points there would have been different.”
Standing between Osaka and the Australian title is another Czech opponent Kvitova who is on an even better winning run than Pliskova, with 11 straight matches. — AFP.
Online Reporter