Melbourne: Fourth seed Naomi Osaka outgunned Karolina Pliskova Thursday to set up an Australian Open final against Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova. The 21-year-old Japanese star overcame the seventh seed 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach a second straight Grand Slam decider after her breakthrough triumph over Serena Williams at last year’s US Open.
Osaka started strongly to take the first set as the match began with the roof of Rod Laver Arena closed amid sweltering temperatures exceeding 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Farenheit). But Pliskova, who ousted American great Williams with an epic comeback to make the semi-finals on Wednesday, roared back in the second before Osaka edged past her in the third.
“I expected it, I expected a really hard battle,” Osaka said of Pliskova’s attempt to come back from a set and a break down. “I just told myself to regroup in the third set and try as hard as I could no matter what, and I managed to win.” She said her win at Flushing Meadows helped settle her nerves against the never-say-die Czech. ,”I was so scared serving second serves, I was like ‘oh my God, please!'” she said. “I guess that’s experience, I don’t know.
Osaka is bidding to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2015 to win the US and Australian Opens back to back.
She will also become the new world number one, replacing Romania’s Simona Halep, if she beats Kvitova in the final. Pliskova was the bookies’ favourite for the title after her effort against Williams but made a slow start, hitting only four winners to Osaka’s 16 in the first set.
The fired up Japanese also dominated on serve as she ended Pliskova’s 10-match winning streak., After blasting down an ace in her first service game, Osaka carved out three break points on Pliskova’s serve., A blistering backhand gave her the advantage following a baseline slug fest with the Czech., Pliskova double faulted to hand Osaka a second break and the Japanese star went on to serve out the set with an ace after 32 minutes.
The opening four games of the second set all went against serve as Pliskova threw everything at Osaka trying to find a way back into the match., Osaka absorbed the pressure and continued to play her shots as the dogged Czech went on the attack.
She held on until two unforced errors, trailing at 5-4, handed a jubilant Pliskova the second set after 41 minutes.
Osaka managed a crucial hold as the third game of the third set turned into a seven-minute arm-wrestle, fending off three break points., She then broke in the next game but Pliskova continued to press and the Japanese player had to see off break point with an ace before serving out the match., She hit another ace on match point which was called out but successfully challenged the decision to ensure she made the final.
Brave Petra Kvitova admitted Thursday it had been ‘a long journey’ to make the Australian Open final after a knife-wielding burglar slashed her racquet hand in an attack that left her traumatised and scared to be alone., The 28-year-old feared she may never play tennis again after the 33-year-old man broke into her apartment in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov just weeks before the opening Grand Slam of 2017.
She suffered career-threatening injuries to her left hand as she fought him off., Despite grim forecasts by doctors, who even warned she might lose her fingers, the 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion never gave up believing and miraculously returned to the sport in time for the 2017 French Open., But she was still struggling mentally, admitting it took time to regain her confidence.
“It wasn’t only physically but mentally very tough,” she said. “It took me really a while to believe (in the) people around me again, and especially the men, for sure. So I wasn’t pretty confident to be alone somewhere.”, Getting her hand back into shape was also a gruelling challenge, involving extensive surgery and months of treatment. She still has nerve damage in her fingers and struggles to properly clench her fist. “Yeah, it was a lot of work with the hand. It was lot of recovery, treatment,” she said “I think that kind of the sports life helped me a lot with that. I just set up the mind that I really wanted to come back, and I just did, everything.
