Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts during her fourth round match against Spain’s Garbine Muguruza REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts during her fourth round match against Spain’s Garbine Muguruza REUTERS/Loren Elliott
On the back of her great performances, Naomi Osaka finds herself in yet another Australian Open final. She now faces Jennifer Brady in the final of the Australian Open 2021. And this deep run at the ‘happy slam’ will give Osaka a mammoth amount of points that could push her ahead of World No.2 Simona Halep.
Osaka is ranked third in the WTA rankings and Simona Halep is the World No.2. Currently, Halep has 7255 points and Osaka has 5965 points, but the Japanese ace can move above Halep with the Australian Open 2021 triumph.
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Simona Halep looks dejected after her quarter final match against Serena Williams of the U.S. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
The difference between them is 1290 points. And Halep has added no points from Aussie Open, thus giving Osaka full opportunity to pass the Romanian.
Osaka had exited the Australian Open 2020 in the third round, so in 2021 she can earn a lot of points. Currently, Osaka has 130 points from 2020. And if she loses in the final to Jennifer Brady, she will earn a further 1170 points, completing the 1300 points allotted for the finalist. This raises her ranking points to 7135, 80 short of Halep.
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Naomi Osaka in action during her semi-final match against Serena Williams of the U.S. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
So, Osaka has to win Australian Open 2021 to surpass Halep. If she wins, she earns a further 1870 points which would take her ranking points total to 7835. This is well clear of Halep’s total of 7255.
Looking back at her Aussie Open run, Osaka has defeated the likes of Serena Williams and Garbine Muguruza convincingly and is now a win away from lifting her second Australian Open title.
Naomi Osaka currently on a 20-match winning streak
Just a year back, Osaka was ranked 10th because of an early exit at the Australian Open. But then, the pandemic hit the world, and the tennis season was halted, which gave Osaka time to re-group. Now, since the pandemic break, Osaka has forged a 20-match winning streak which could extend to 21 if she wins the final.
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Naomi Osaka after winning her semi final match against Serena Williams of the U.S. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Osaka and Brady last faced off at the US Open 2020 semifinals, where Osaka triumphed in three sets. With the ongoing win-streak, Osaka looks like a strong favorite for the title.
Read More: ‘Grew Up Playing’: Jennifer Brady Remembers Being Awe-Struck Watching a Young Naomi Osaka Play
