Naomi Osaka beats Jennifer Brady to reach US Open final

Osaka cruised into her second US Open final after defeating Brady 7-6 (1) 3-6 6-3

osaka-2020-us-open-ap Japanese player Naomi Osaka at the 2020 US Open | AP

Two-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan cruised into her second US Open final after defeating American Jennifer Brady 7-6 (1) 3-6 6-3 in the semifinals on Thursday.

Osaka powered her way through the match with 35 winners and had 17 unforced errors against the 28-seeded American who reached her first grand slam semifinal without having dropped a set so far in the tournament.

“It means a lot for me. I kind of consider New York my second home. I really love the atmosphere even though there’s sadly no people here. This court really suits me well,” Osaka said.

Brady had no intention handing over the final berth to the former champion as the two battled in the match that featured just six break-point opportunities.

In the first set, Osaka turned aside a break point while serving at 3-3, held at love to get ahead 5-4 and then ran away in the tiebreak to close out a set in which she made just four unforced errors.

Brady held Osaka in the second set having dropped only four points through the first four service games and winning a rally to break for 5-3 leading to the decider set. However, Osaka sealed the match after building on an early break to lead 4-1 and won 14 of 17 first-serve points.

The 22-year old Japanese player will now face Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the final on Saturday. 

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