In the women's final of the Australian Open, there was an unusually high amount at stake. Naomi Osaka and Petr Kvitova fought not only for the honorary trophy, but also for the title of the first racket of the world, which Simon Halep will part with at the end of the tournament. In the fourth round of the Romanian gave way to Serena Williams, after which she could only hope to defeat the closest competitors in the WTA rating.
For both girls, the current tournament in Melbourne has become a kind of turning point in their careers. At the end of 2016, Kvitova survived an armed attack, during which she received serious injuries to her left hand. The next two years she spent trying to return to the previous level, but could not show good results. And only in Australia, she again demonstrated that tennis, thanks to which she became a two-time winner of Grand Slam tournaments. Unlike her rival, Osaka was eager to prove that her success at the US Open was not an accident. A Japanese woman recently appeared in the elite and was obliged to show everyone that this happened absolutely deservedly.
By the way, she did it very well, especially if you look at the level of her opposition. Starting from the fourth round, she met with rivals exclusively from the top 15 world rankings, including Anastasia Sevastova, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Plishkova. Her counterpart, in turn, dealt with the main newsmakers of the current tournament draw, in turn, beating the hostess of the courts Ashley Bartie (who left out the Russian Maria Sharapova), as well as the main discovery of the Australian Open - Daniel Collins. Previously, the American did not win a single match at TBSH, but in Melbourne came to the semifinal.
The start of the match was dedicated to a small warm-up and acquaintance with each other. This is not surprising, because previously they have never shared a court. But since the fifth game, an uncompromising struggle began, and the rivals began to act more and more aggressively. The turning point in the set could happen in the seventh game. Osaka conceded 0:40 in her serve, but she found strength in herself and pulled out the most important point.
After that, the athletes began to act a little more cautiously, quietly waiting for the tiebreak. But if Osaka approached him in full readiness, then Petra could not forget those three lost break points. Naomi led easily with a score of 5: 1, after which the victory in the party was just a matter of technique.
Czech knew that she needed to urgently align the situation, so she made a real assault at the start of the second set. Kvitova quickly took delivery of a rival, but could not keep the advantage. At first, Osaka restored parity, and in the fifth game, Petra gave her opponent almost a break. Czech made three unforced errors in the four drawings and were on the verge of defeat.
But the real drama flared up in the ninth game. Before the second consecutive victory in the Grand Slam tournaments, the Japanese had only one game to take. Osaka quickly earned three break points, but at a crucial moment, Kvitova demonstrated her will to win. At first, the Czech with the most powerful cross to the right played the first of them, and then took four more drawings in a row.
Over the next three games, Osaka could not believe what had happened and lost control of her emotions. Hardly holding back tears, she began to take out her anger on the racket, which only prevented her from concentrating on the game. The Czech immediately took advantage of this, took three more games in a row and made her rival hide for a while in the room under the tribune.
It seemed that the third installment of Kvitov should easily deal with her rival, who by that moment was on the verge of collapse. But Osaka took less than 10 minutes to clean up. After she did not give a reason to remember about their psychological problems. Naomi easily took her pitch, and in the third game made a decisive break. In the remaining time, Petra fiercely resisted: she was practically not mistaken, she performed three aces, but all this was not enough. With the score 5-4, on the pitch, the Japanese again earned three match points, but this time did not allow the Czech to change the course of the match.
Thus, Osaka became the first Asian tennis player in history, which managed to win at the Australian Open and win the title of the first racket of the world. In addition, Naomi became the first athlete in the last 18 years, whose assets include victories in two consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. The last time this was possible American Jennifer Capriati, who first became the strongest in the Australian Open, and after the Roland Garros.
At the end of the meeting Kvitova first took the floor. Cheshka told how important it is to enter the main match of the Grand Slam, and praised her rival.
“This is incredible. I can not believe that I again played in the final. It was a great match, I want to congratulate Naomi and her entire team. She was very good and fully deserved the title of the first racket of the world, ”Kvitova said during the awards ceremony.
She also thanked her coaches, and especially noted her personal doctor.
“It was a great tournament for me. Most of all, I want to thank my doctor - the person thanks to whom I again managed to hold the racket in my hands. He was always with me, ”added the Czech tennis player.
Osaka was laconic and admitted that public speaking was not her strong point.
“Great congratulations to Petra, you are well done. It was a tough match that became a lesson for me. I tried to show everything that is capable of. I did not believe that I would manage to complete the tournament with a victory. Of course, I was preparing the winning speech, but I forgot it, ”said Osaka.