So my footwork, I have to adjust it a lot, because there is literally no other player that plays like her. But her ball isn't hard, if that makes sense. Then she's immediately aggressive from the first ball. “She has really amazing service returns,” said Osaka, “so that immediately puts me in pressure and puts me in a very uncomfortable position that I don't really like. At her best, there is a crisply sculpted quality to Bencic’s game, everything from defense to offense conducted with martinet-like efficiency. Her timing was as exquisite as, we dare say, a Swiss watch. Having dropped her serve but once in her first 37 service games this tournament, Osaka was broken twice early, Bencic going up 4-1. I feel like it's very instinctive and it's there.”Īs the match got underway, Bencic’s mastery over Osaka continued. I think that's the biggest part, you know, of my anticipation. “I don't look at her too much, because I feel like my instincts are prepared and they are just there, you know, so I don't have to think too much. “I think I prepare on these matches just for my game,” said Bencic.

Bencic’s ability to take the ball early and sharply direct it to various corners had frequently flummoxed Osaka, triggering poor footwork and ill-informed shot selection decisions. More notable was that this woman from Switzerland had won all three of their prior tour-level matches, most recently ending Osaka’s title defense in the fourth round of the 2019 US Open. Never mind that Osaka had won four majors while Bencic had never reached a Slam final. Matchups, to my mind one of tennis’ greatest assets, made this pairing exceptionally alluring. Often when Osaka wins it’s a case of wire-to-wire dominance. I want to know that, even when the times are tough, I can bounce back. Now I feel like I’m in a really good place in my life. “I've wanted to get back here for a long time but I couldn’t string together a lot of things. “I feel like I’ve been fighting for a long time-not like physically fighting,” Osaka told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj following the match.

Sitting on the bench afterwards, in the final of a tournament for the first time since the 2021 Australian Open, Osaka placed a towel over her face and began to cry. Today, in a Thursday afternoon semi at the Miami Open, Osaka beat Belinda Bencic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Nearly three weeks ago, on a Saturday night at the BNP Paribas Open, a heckler brought Naomi Osaka to tears.

2021 australian open results