Jennifer Brady sets up date with Naomi Osaka in Australian Open final
· The Japan TimesMelbourne – Jennifer Brady edged Karolina Muchova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a tense Australian Open semifinal on Thursday to set up a title match with Naomi Osaka.
The big-serving No. 22 seed secured her first Grand Slam final appearance on her fifth match point against the Czech 25th seed in front of thousands of fans allowed back in Rod Laver Arena after a snap five-day lockdown in Melbourne was lifted.
The American will play Osaka in Saturday’s final after the world No. 3 earlier ended Serena Williams’ bid for a record-equaling 24th major title 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Brady, 25, is the last player standing among those forced into a hard 14-day quarantine after arriving in Australia.
“My legs are shaking, my heart is racing,” said Brady, who had 20 winners and eight aces.
“My legs felt fresh but they weren’t moving. They felt stuck in mud.
“I didn’t really pick up my intensity until the beginning of the third set.” Brady set up a rematch of last year’s epic U.S. Open semifinal, where Osaka prevailed in three sets.
“We had a tough match in the U.S. Open, where she said it was one of her top two matches,” said Brady, who is 1-2 against Osaka. “I’ll be nervous but I’m going to be super-excited.” Compared to the blockbuster semifinal earlier in the day, this was a surprise contest between first time Grand Slam semifinalists.
The warm conditions were expected to suit Brady and she started fast with an early break, but Muchova settled down and clawed back into the contest.
A loose service game in the 10th game — punctuated by a double fault — handed Brady the first set.
Having been in a similar predicament during her remarkable comeback victory over world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, a calm Muchova broke Brady to open the second set.
Muchova’s consistency and occasional charge to the net rattled an error-strewn Brady.
The momentum shifted again when Brady broke in the third game of the final set.
Brady relied on her trusted serve to inch closer and on her second match point believed she had clinched victory, only to sink to her knees when her backhand was revealed to have been long by just a couple of millimeters A nervous Brady was forced to fend off three break points before finally booking a spot in her maiden Grand Slam final on her fifth match point, falling to the ground in euphoria.
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