2021 AO Women's Final: [22] Jennifer Brady (USA) vs. [3] Naomi Osaka (JPN)

Brady or Osaka?

  • Brady in 2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Brady in 3

    Votes: 3 9.4%
  • Osaka in 3

    Votes: 7 21.9%
  • Osaka in 2

    Votes: 22 68.8%

  • Total voters
    32
  • Poll closed .

GhostOfNKDM

Hall of Fame
The women should WANT a BO5 final.

This isn't about 'earning' the same prize money as men... it's simple self-interest. You get to a slam final after a lot of sacrifices and hard work. A best of 3 can be out of your hand in a jiffy.

A BO5 is simply a more egalitarian contest - rewards mental endurance as well physical.
 

GhostOfNKDM

Hall of Fame
Got the impression Osaka didn't want to bagel her...

Brady regained her senses after the disappointment of losing the first set lasted the first few games of the second.

She started to do a bit more defense and fought harder. A bit late for her chances tho...
 

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
The women should WANT a BO5 final.

This isn't about 'earning' the same prize money as men... it's simple self-interest. You get to a slam final after a lot of sacrifices and hard work. A best of 3 can be out of your hand in a jiffy.

A BO5 is simply a more egalitarian contest - rewards mental endurance as well physical.


They should play Bo5 from semis on. These matches are over way too quickly.
 

GhostOfNKDM

Hall of Fame
They should play Bo5 from semis on. These matches are over way too quickly.

As a spectator that would be great. Not sure the women's tour would be super enthusiastic about playing a hard fought 5 setter in the semis before another in the final.

I say at the least, finals should be BO5
 

Wander

Hall of Fame
Osaka playing for Japan is somewhat strange in my opinion.
From childhood she is staying in US, all growing up here.

But still opting to play for Japan to get benefits
Apparently USTA was not interested in Naomi and her sister when they were young. The parents decided they'd represent Japan when they were around 10 years old, long before making money was really in the cards. Perhaps Japan's association offered better financial support early on, however.
 

Gizo

Legend
Well done to Naomi ! An excellent run through the draw, and I'm delighted to see her winning another grand slam title; I hope that there are more to come ! 4 grand slam titles in the space of under 3 and a half years is very nice going.

A big year for her of course with the Olympics in Tokyo as well, and hopefully she can improve on clay and grass in the future.
 

FakeEmpire

Professional
Got the impression Osaka didn't want to bagel her...

Perhaps, but, at the same time, Brady left the stupor of losing the first set so meekly. Also, I don't like to believe players take the foot out of the accelerator like that, because it can backfire spectacularly.
 

Crazy Finn

Hall of Fame
Apparently USTA was not interested in Naomi and her sister when they were young. The parents decided they'd represent Japan when they were around 10 years old, long before making money was really in the cards. Perhaps Japan's association offered better financial support early on, however.
I do recall hearing that, now that you mention it. USTA not buying into a non elite country club player? Shocking...
 

albertobra

Hall of Fame
As a spectator that would be great. Not sure the women's tour would be super enthusiastic about playing a hard fought 5 setter in the semis before another in the final.

I say at the least, finals should be BO5

They could very well be BO4. With an eventual 10 points TB if 2-2
 

roysid

Legend
Apparently USTA was not interested in Naomi and her sister when they were young. The parents decided they'd represent Japan when they were around 10 years old, long before making money was really in the cards. Perhaps Japan's association offered better financial support early on, however.
Exactly. USTA didn't offer support. They were not interested. What d***heads. Its their loss
Japan was willing to provide support.
Haiti obviously didn't come to equation.

So this decision was made long back when they started on pro tour.

Financials matter. Today major sponsors of Osaka are from Japan, plus tax burden is less. So make sense to remain tied up with Japan
 
Thing is though - as far as I'm aware, the tennis forum with by far the highest traffic is the main WTA forum which is I guess the sister site to the main men's tennis forum (which isn't this forum).


But yeh as far as this forum goes, not much interest in the women's game.

That forum has more comments compare to the Men's side. The one thing that annoying is the interface.
 

JadeC

Hall of Fame
Osaka playing for Japan is somewhat strange in my opinion.
From childhood she is staying in US, all growing up here.

But still opting to play for Japan to get benefits

It doesn't always have to be about the benefits. Doesn't matter where she lives and for how long, if she identifies with being Japanese, then she's Japanese. She can choose to play for Japan if she wishes. Nothing wrong with that.

Seriously, why does this topic always come up? Does it really matter which country she chooses to play for?
 
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GhostOfNKDM

Hall of Fame
Exactly. USTA didn't offer support. They were not interested. What d***heads. Its their loss
Japan was willing to provide support.
Haiti obviously didn't come to equation.

So this decision was made long back when they started on pro tour.

Financials matter. Today major sponsors of Osaka are from Japan, plus tax burden is less. So make sense to remain tied up with Japan

It's just as well..

With the kind of people we know are out in the open now in this country, a female athlete that doesn't look like a Fox news presenter will have all kind of invective directed her way.

Hopefully in Japan they're far more accepting of a person and willing to look at ability and character and past appearances.
 
She had dual citizenship of US and Japan. She relinquished US citizenship in 2019 to play for Japan in 2020 olympics as per Japanese rule

Edit : while some news have reported like that, i also see that it is unconfirmed. She has elected to represent Japan in Tokyo olympics but she is probably retaining her US citizenship.

Japan did not recognize dual citizenship age 21 above.
 

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
That forum has more comments compare to the Men's side. The one thing that annoying is the interface.


I haven't visited for years. I know at the time it generated a bonkers amount of traffic compared to any other tennis forum, and that both forums generated a lot more traffic than this forum. Guessing that's still the case.
 

Hitman

Bionic Poster
Congratulations Osaka, only caught the last three games. 4 slams and I am sure plenty more to come. She will be the dominant player of this generation, already making distance between her and the rest now.
 

FakeEmpire

Professional
I remember she said "Thank you Sacha for hitting with me for the past weeks" LOL.

Don't recall that one, but that's some cold s**t! Human mind has a tendency to wander towards the mystery, not always healthy, but man how would I like to know what the hell happened between those two...
 

FakeEmpire

Professional
Oh yeah I remember that. Clearly a lot of bad blood. Seems that way with most people he coached

Well, I'm giving him some leeway, because, after Naomi, he trained Mladenovic and Yastremska, themselves not the most easy going people around. If something happens between him and Pliskova, then I will be sure he has some temper.
 

Wander

Hall of Fame
Naomi only got 48% first serves in. To be honest, she was low on that the whole tournament (45% vs Serena, 48% vs Hsieh 61% vs Muguruza, 43% vs Jabeur etc.) but it barely mattered. I think Brady needed to have a serving day of her life to win this match, but unfortunately for her, she too only got 48% 1st serves in and was winning only 33% return points overall despite the chances Naomi offered.
 

abmk

Bionic Poster
Osaka's combo of ballstriking+serving(including clutch) and excellent returning is unrivalled by anyone on hardcourts at present. Just needs to make some minor adjustments on grass and she will be a force to reckon with there. Clay will be tougher, but doable.

Credit to Brady for an excellent tournament. She has proven her 2020 was not a one-off. That easy forehand miss on setpoint in the 1st set along with not good enough first serve% proved to be her downfall in this final though.
 

Crazy Finn

Hall of Fame
Naomi only got 48% first serves in. To be honest, she was low on that the whole tournament (45% vs Serena, 48% vs Hsieh 61% vs Muguruza, 43% vs Jabeur etc.) but it barely mattered. I think Brady needed to have a serving day of her life to win this match, but unfortunately for her, she too only got 48% 1st serves in and was winning only 33% return points overall despite the chances Naomi offered.
Yeah.

So, Osaka is great and playing really well on hard courts for the last several years and has 4 slams. And...

...Frankly, she’s got some room for improvement. First serve percentage, net play and volleys, shot variety. Surface adaptability.

That bodes well...
 

AM75

Hall of Fame
This AO just shows how unlucky were those who played during Serena's prime. Somehow it feels that to win a GS 10 years ago was much bigger achievement than today.
 

ScentOfDefeat

G.O.A.T.
That forum has more comments compare to the Men's side. The one thing that annoying is the interface.

But it's also a forum where a lot of, let's say, "catty" (for lack of a better expression) people go to have online arguments.
I've noticed over the years that it's especially prone to drama, fan wars and mental breakdowns.
More content, yes, but at what price?
 
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