On February 20, Naomi Osaka won her fourth grand slam title, defeating Jennifer Brady, an American. Osaka has won a grand slam for four consecutive years and is currently ranked number one in the world. Osaka is currently the reigning champion for both the US Open and Australian Open. 

   In the semi-finals, Brady defeated Karolina Muchova in a three set match; the score was 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Osaka beat 23-time grand slam winner Serena Williams in a two-set match. The last time Osaka and Williams played was in the 2018 US Open finals, a memorable match due to the drama that occurred. 

   Osaka’s intensity on the court certainly does not match her off-court persona. She’s known for having stage fright when it comes to public speaking. In an entertaining TikTok video, Osaka makes an entertaining misstep in her acceptance speech of the 2021 Australian Open Title. Her endearing personality makes her hard to not like, and her future is looking very promising. 

   The next day, February 21, Novak Djokovic, ranked number one in the world, defeated the fourth-ranked Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic is from Serbia, and Medvedev is from Russia. Djokovic, who was favored to win the 2020 US Open, was disqualified after an outburst resulting in a ball hitting a line judge. Evidently, he was able to quickly get over that hiccup. Sophomore Sasha Degroff, a member of the Broughton women’s tennis team, watched many of the matches, but there was one match that she particularly enjoyed. 

   “My favorite match was definitely Djokovic versus Zverev. The level of play was amazing in that match, and there were many crazy shots that were made. Also, when Djokovic destroyed his racquet it really made the match more interesting,” said Degroff. Despite not having a large number of fans, the Australian Open was a success. Fans are excited about watching tennis veterans as well as seeing who the future tennis stars will be.