Three Thoughts on Naomi Osaka's Authoritative Australian Open Win

Naomi Osaka took a good, hard look at success at the 2018 US Open and, for the most part, has held her gaze ever since.

In Melbourne, she cemented her superiority in women's tennis with an authoritative 6-4, 6-3 win over Jennifer Brady in the 2021 Australian Open women’s final. This marks the fourth Major title of her soaring career and the continuation of her win streak, now up to 21.

Here are three thoughts on the match.

Heir to Serena

If this wasn’t peak Osaka, it was close. She overwhelmed her opponent with heavy, pace-laced strokes, especially off-angled backhands. And after a brief first-set hiccup, she cleaned up her game and ran off six games in the middle of the match, and closed like…