Australian Open Final Preview: Osaka, Kvitova also playing for No. 1
Their first career meeting, with so much on the line, comes together from two very different paths.
When it comes to the Slams, power rules on the women’s side. The truth of that axiom was put to the test in 2018, when Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber all defended and retrieved their way to major titles. But the attackers hvce staged a major counter-attack Down Under: All four semifinalists—Naomi Osaka Osaka, Petra Kvitova, Danielle Collins, Karolina Pliskova—were ball-belters of the first order.
Now there are only two of them. Kvitova and Osaka have made their way to the final, and to their first head-to-head meeting, by very different paths.
Kvitova has been in the best form of anyone in the tournament, and maybe the best form of her career. She hasn’t dropped a set, she’s taken all of her opponents out of their games from the start, and she has avoided the mid-match lapses that have plagued her in the past. A slimmed-down Kvitova is getting to balls sooner, and because of that, she’s using her always-potent shots more effectively. That includes her swinging lefty serve, which has been devastating.
Osaka, by comparison, has taken a circuitous route through her half of the draw. She won her third three-setter of the event over Pliskova in the semifinals. But that doesn’t make her performance any less impressive than Kvitova’s. Osaka has shown resilience, and a deeper sense of self-confidence than most of us knew she had, even after her US Open title run. Osaka says that winning in New York has given her a taste for victory at the majors, and made her much less likely to settle for anything less.
So who will win: the player in the form of her life, or the player who is projecting a sense of Grand Slam destiny? Kvitova and Osaka both like big stages: Kvitova is 26-7 in finals, and 2-0 in them at majors; Osaka faced down Serena and a pro-Serena crowd at Flushing Meadows. Both love to attack, and can hit winners from anywhere. While Osaka is a better mover and defender, I’ll stick by the old axiom: Power rules, and Kvitova has just a little more of it.
Winner: Kvitova
Kick off each day of the 2019 Australian Open with Tennis Channel Live, reviewing the day’s most important news and previewing the day’s biggest matches.
Follow the Australian Open all week long on Tennis Channel and TENNIS.com