Osaka wins Australian Open to become world number one

The victory also means this is the Japanese second Grand Slam

Japan's Naomi Osaka battled past Czech eighth seed Petra Kvitova 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-4 to win her first Australian Open crown Saturday and become the new world number one.

The fourth seed and US Open champion made it two Grand Slam titles in a row after a see-sawing 2hr 27min match.

The hard-fought victory made Osaka the first Asian, male or female, to hold the world's top ranking, taking over from Romania's Simona Halep.

A rattled Osaka almost blew her title hopes with one hand on the trophy when she failed to convert three championship points when up 5-3 in the second set.

The never-say-die Kvitova won four straight games to force a deciding set before Osaka finally edged ahead with a decisive break early in the third.

The Japanese youngster fell to one knee in celebration, head bowed, after her epic win as Melbourne Park erupted in thunderous cheers.

It was a marked contrast to her maiden Slam win last year, when Osaka cried as boos rang around Flushing Meadows following losing finalist Serena Williams' tirade at the umpire.

This time, Osaka wept tears of joy and smiled as she became the youngest woman to win back-to-back majors since Martina Hingis in 1998 and the youngest number one since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.

Her performance confirms her status as the leading light of tennis' new generation.



Predictions of a slugfest between two of the game's biggest hitters proved accurate as Kvitova hit 16 winners to Osaka's 14 in the first set.

The pair had never met before and Osaka initially struggled to unlock the lanky left-hander's serve, while Kvitova at times could not handle her opponent's powerful returns.

The Czech mixed up her game with drop shots and changes of pace but blew three break chances in a crunch sixth game.

Serving to stay in the set, Kvitova saved two set points to force a tie-break, which Osaka ran away with 7-2 after finally appearing to get a read on Kvitova's serve.



It was the first set the Czech had conceded in the entire tournament.

Kvitova regrouped and kept her hopes alive with the first break of the match to go up 2-0 in the second after going after Osaka's second serve.

Osaka was frustrated but did not panic, earning three break-back points in the next game, the decisive one off a Kvitova double fault, which she conceded with a poorly hit drop shot to put the set back on level terms.