Before starting the
Australian Open
, someone asked
Naomi Osaka
how she handled being the 'new' face of women's tennis.
"As long as
Serena Williams is
, the face is her," she replied.
The Japanese has always shown reverential respect for her idol, but on the track everything is forgotten.
Osaka
defeated the American with authority (6-3, 6-4) and will seek her fourth Grand Slam title at age 23.
A pendant with the word 'Queen' set in diamonds hangs from Serena's neck, but the new crown for women's tennis has an owner.
It's been four years since
Williams'
last great
.
It was precisely at the Australian Open, against her sister Venus and two months pregnant.
His dominance was then indisputable: he had won six of the last 10 Grand Slam tournaments and in the 10 he had reached at least the semifinals.
But in these four years of drought,
Naomi Osaka
has burst in with force and that final of the US Open in 2018 is remembered less and less for the outbreak of
Serena
and more as a relay point.
The Japanese, who already has 20 victories in a row, including the last US Open, closed the way again.
Osaka
entered the game late, giving up the serve in the first game, but once inside there was no one to take her out.
There had been a lot of talk in recent weeks about how well
Williams'
three-month hiatus had done.
He was much more agile, reached more balls, defended with more ease.
And as if she wanted to prove it for herself,
Osaka
shook her from side to side, opening up angles.
The Japanese had problems with her first serve (she only got 36%), but the exchanges were hers.
He gave up the first two games, but tied the next five.
His confidence in the hit contrasted with that of Serena, unknown in the first round.
He hit just four winners, against 16 unforced errors.
The American is not comfortable, who reprimanded herself even when she put in a great parallel right.
"Make a shot! Make a shot!"
Williams
shouted
after signing the first point of the second set with a great parallel right.
She felt tense, the shots did not enter her, and in another improper failure on a climb, she looked up at the sky with an ironic smile.
It wasn't the day.
The only moment of doubt in
Osaka
appeared near the victory, in the eighth game of the second heat.
The Japanese, faltering again in service, conceded a break with three double faults.
But his reaction was resounding.
The Japanese connected two winners to the rest and, after a double fault from
Williams
, took out the hammer: a very tight open right to one corner and two-handed backhand to the opposite.
Break in white, fist raised and victory on track.
All eight times Serena
Williams
had made it to the semifinals of the Australian Open, she had made her way to the final.
On seven occasions he left with the title.
Not this time, ousted again by
Naomi Osaka
in her pursuit of
Margaret Court's
24 titles
.
From her neck hangs a pendant with the word 'Queen' set in diamonds, but the crown of women's tennis seems already in the hands of
Osaka
.
That there is also the Melbourne title can only be prevented by Jennifer Brady or Karolina Muchová.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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