Naomi Osaka overpowers Jennifer Brady in straight sets to win Australian Open

Naomi Osaka on Saturday won her fourth Grand Slam title as she defeated Jennifer Brady in straight sets to clinch the women`s singles final of the 2021 Australian Open. The Japanese won the match 6-4, 6-3. Osaka, the first Japanese player to win a major, extended her winning streak to 21 matches with this victory.

Naomi Osaka on Saturday won her fourth Grand Slam title as she defeated Jennifer Brady in straight sets to clinch the women’s singles final of the 2021 Australian Open. The Japanese won the match 6-4, 6-3. This is Osaka's second Australian Open title, she had earlier conquered the Melbourne Grand Slam in 2019. 

Osaka started to dominate the proceedings right from the word go as Brady froze in the spotlight of her first Grand Slam final. The third seed Japanese clinched six straight games to take the first set and stormed to a 4-0 lead in the second.

Brady belatedly conjured some resistance to break Osaka against the flow of play and claw back to 5-3. But the American bowed out as she started, with errors flying off her racket.

Osaka served out the match to love, with a big serve sealing it when Brady thumped a forehand return long. 

Osaka, the first Japanese player to win a major, extended her winning streak to 21 matches with this victory. 

In the semi-finals, Osaka had defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals. 

- with Reuters inputs