Japan’s Naomi Osaka persevered a comeback scare to beat Czech’s Petra Kvitova to lift the Australia Open title in a thrilling final on Saturday.
Osaka, 21, shed tears after overcoming the energetic Kvitova to win the match 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-4. Both stars came off different pasts. Osaka was eyeing her second Grand Slam win following her contentious win over Serena Williams last September. The Czech, on the other hand, hoped to win a major title two years after facing a scary knife attack.
“Hello. Sorry, public speaking isn’t my strong point so I hope I can get this,” – Osaka said in her acceptance speech. “I read notes before this but I still forgot what I was meant to say. Thank you everyone, I am really honored to have played in this final.”
Despite the knife attack incident that happened two years ago, Kvitova played resiliently throughout the tournament. In the finals, she came from behind to win the second set. Unfortunate for her, Osaka had regained by that time and initiated a comfortable third set win.
With the Grand Slam, Osaka is only the first player to win back to back major titles since American Jennifer Capriatti did it in 2001. On Monday, she will also be confirmed as the new World No.1 after beating Romania’s Simona Halep for the position.
