Japan's Naomi Osaka outclassed Karolina Pliskova on Thursday to set up an Australian Open final against Petra Kvitova.
The 2018 US Open champion made it to her second straight grand slam final after defeating the Czech seventh seed 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Osaka started strongly to take the first set as she hit 16 winners as opposed to Pliskova's four. The Czech fought back in the second, throwing everything at Osaka, to even the match. Osaka sealed the third set with an ace on match point.
The Japanese said that she was expecting Pliskova to make a comeback in the second set. “I expected a really hard battle,” she said.
“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.” Osaka is bidding to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2015 to win the US and Australian Opens back-to-back.
If Osaka defeats Kvitova in the final, she will replace Romania's Simona Halep to become the new number one.
