Naomi Osaka vs Jennifer Brady: All you need to know ahead of the Aus Open final

Australian Open 2021 final: Naomi Osaka is on a 20-match winning streak and has been to three Grand Slam finals in the past and never lost any of them, while Jennifer Brady is all set to feature in her first.

Underdog Jennifer Brady does have the experience of defeating previous Grand Slam champions (Maria Sharapova and Ash Barty, both of whom she beat at the Brisbane International last year) which will come good against Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open final.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka and USA’s Jennifer Brady will square off in the Women’s Singles final of the 2021 Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Saturday.

Heading into the final, Osaka is on a 20-match winning streak and has been to three Grand Slam finals in the past and never lost any of them.

The 23-year-old, seeded 3rd, has already lifted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup once before, when in 2019 she beat Petra Kvitova 7–6, 5–7, 6–4 in the final to clinch her maiden Australian Open title.

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For Brady, though, this territory is as unfamiliar as it gets. The American, seeded 25th, will be competing in her first ever Grand Slam final and has never been ranked inside the top 20 in the world so far in her career.

However, she does have the experience of defeating previous Grand Slam champions, in the form of Maria Sharapova and Ash Barty, both of whom she beat at the Brisbane International last year.

Both players come into this fixture on the back of contrasting victories in their respective semifinals. The number 3 seed Osaka defeated the number 10 seed Serena Williams in straight sets 6–3, 6–4 while the number 22 Brady was made to work hard before getting the better of the 25th seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 in her last four clash.
 

Head-to-head

Osaka leads the head-to-head 2–1. Both players last met at the 2020 US Open, where Osaka defeated Brady 7–6, 3–6, 6–3 in the semi-final stage of the competition.

Road to the final

Naomi Osaka

Round 1: def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-1, 6-2

Round 2: def. Carolina Garcia (FRA) 6-2, 6-3

Round 3: def. Ons Jabeur (TUN) 6-3, 6-2

Round 4: def. Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5

Quarter-final: def. Hsieh Su-wei (TPE) 6-2, 6-2

Semi-final: def. Serena Williams (USA) 6-3, 6-4.

Jennifer Brady

Round 1: def. Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov (ESP) 6-1, 6-3

Round 2: def. Madison Brengle (USA) 6-1, 6-2

Round 3: def. Kaja Juvan (SLO) 6-1, 6-3

Round 4: def. Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-1, 7-5

Quarter-Final: def. Jessica Pegula (USA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1

Semi-Final: def. Karolina Muchova (CZE) 6–4, 3–6, 6–4

What time will the final start on the 20th

The women's single final will begin at 2:00 pm IST

Where will the final take place

The final will happen at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Where to watch in India

The final will be telecast on Sony Sports Network. The match will also be live streamed on the Sony LIV and the Sony LIV website.