Australian Open: Naomi Osaka beats Petra Kvitova in final to become Asia’s first world No 1

Tears fell down Naomi Osaka’s cheeks as she left the court for a comfort break to gear herself up for a third set she had not expected was coming in Saturday’s Australian Open final.

None of us saw that outcome when Osaka held three championship points at 5-3 in the second set. But she was playing Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion who had battled back to the top of the game from a career-threatening injury when a knife-wielding intruder stabbed her playing hand at her home two years ago. Fighting is in Kvitova’s DNA and the Czech fired herself up.

Osaka’s body language had dropped off a cliff and she chided herself for every error – she was staring at a meltdown for the ages.

But the 21-year-old showed she can fight too, and steeled herself for a 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-4 victory at Rod Laver Arena, and there were tears of joy instead of frustration as she sunk to her knees.

What should have been over in 92 minutes went two hours and 27 minutes, but she got there in the end.

If there were any lingering doubts Osaka was not a genuine superstar, that she had somehow fluked her way to a maiden grand slam title in New York last summer, she made a mockery of them here by showing the mental fortitude of a champion when she could have gone completely off the boil.

“Hello, public speaking isn’t really my strong side, so let’s just see if I can get through this,” said Osaka at the trophy presentation.

“I wrote notes before this but I still forgot the rest of what I was gonna say, so thank you everyone, I’m really honoured to play in this final.”

The first Japanese player, male or female, to contest an Australian Open final, Osaka will now become the first Asian world No 1 on either tour.

There is something about major tournaments that seem to bring the best out of her – she has won 14 grand slam matches in a row for back-to-back titles.

Her US Open final victory against Serena Williams seemed to carry an asterisk in many fans’ eyes, with the American docked a game for persistent verbal abuse of the chair umpire.

That ugly encounter had left Osaka crying during the acceptance speeches, when fans were booing Carlos Ramos, who had been called a “liar” and a “thief” by Williams.

Just like that Flushing Meadows win had been a bit of a fairy tale for the then-20-year-old Osaka, Kvitova was looking for a fairy-tale ending of her own here. The Czech was back in a grand slam final for the first time since the harrowing December 2016 incident that left her with tendon and nerve injuries, and kept her out for five months.

“To my team, thank you for sticking with me even when we didn’t know if I would be able to hold a racquet again,” a misty-eyed Kvitova said as she held the runner’s-up trophy. “Every single day supporting me, which I really needed, it wasn’t easy.”

Kvitova was also looking to become the oldest first-time women’s world No 1, at 28 years and 326 days, and the ninth different women’s grand slam singles champion in a row.

“Huge congrats to Petra, I’ve always wanted to play you. You’ve been through so much, honestly I wouldn’t have wanted this to be our first match,” Osaka said.

In Osaka, women’s tennis now surely has its next icon, a highly marketable and genuinely down to earth player whose value will further go through the roof.

She had already seen her stock skyrocket after the US Open – sponsorships flowed in from Japan, one of whom, the noodle-maker Nissin, even withdrew an animated advert featuring Osaka after accusations of “whitewashing”.

But just like when Williams was having her temper tantrum at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Osaka didn’t seem to be letting the controversy get to her and went about her business calmly here – for 90 minutes, at least.

The sulking that spoiled her exit in Brisbane earlier this month reared its head when she wasted three championship points and then got broken at 5-3 in the second set, slamming her racquet into her knees. She then squealed in agony as Kvitova broke her again to take the second set on a double fault.

Osaka’s meltdown was all the more baffling given she had not lost for 59 matches after winning the first set.

After a closely fought opening set, Osaka dominated the tiebreaker and she looked composed as she reeled off three straight games from 2-0 down in the second set.

Not even the Australia Day fireworks could halt her momentum, as Osaka closed in on the win, but Kvitova somehow saved those three match points.

Still, Osaka had a chance to serve for the match, but she passed that up too, double faulting to hand Kvitova two break points and she duly obliged.

Kvitova held and then broke Osaka again to force the decider, letting out a passionate roar with Osaka looking down and out as she left the court.

Osaka managed to stop the rot, though, making it 1-1 in the third set as her coach Sascha Bajin leapt to his feet and shouted encouragement.

She then broke for 2-1, and with a gentle fist pump looked to have finally settled herself down.

Another break-point chance came at 4-2, but Kvitova held her nerve.

Then came Osaka’s second chance to serve out the match, and three more championship points. She took the second, and the relief on her face was easy to see as coolness prevailed.