Osaka faced Czech’s Petra Kvitova and after a thrilling two-hour, 27-minute match emerged winner with a final score of 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-4. This shot her up to become the number one seed and made her the first Asian, male or female to hold the top spot.
After the match, Osaka said she was in a state of shock throughout the entire trophy presentation. She fell to one knee, head bowed as the crowd erupted in thunderous applause. This is a sharp contrast to her US Open win where she tearfully his her face as the crowd booed after losing finalist Serena Williams’ tirade.
Her opponent, Kvitova was just happy to have reached the finals after a 2016 burglary earned her a knife wound to her playing hand. In fact, Kvitova’s performance in this final was her career best as she did not drop a set on her way to the final.
“Thank you for sticking with me even when we didn’t know if I would able to hold a racquet again,” Kvitova told her team, with her voice cracking.
“It’s crazy. I can hardly believe that I just played in a Grand Slam final again.”
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