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‘Naomi Osaka is clearly the favourite for Australian Open title,’ says Alex Corretja


Alex Corretja believes ‘everything depends on Naomi Osaka’ in the Australian Open final, as Jennifer Brady can’t beat her at her best.

Brady, the world number 24, will play her first Grand Slam final on Saturday after a dream run in Melbourne.

She faces formidable opposition in Osaka, though, with the Japanese ace a strong favourite to win a fourth Grand Slam crown.

All three of her previous titles have come on hardcourts, and Corretja thinks that another is inevitable if she plays at her usual level.

“I would say for Naomi Osaka it was expected that she would be in the final rounds,” Eurosport expert Corretja said.

“For me, the key moment for her was beating Garbine Muguruza.

“I felt at the time that whoever won that match would have a big chance to win the tournament, Naomi got through and from then on I think she has played very good, very aggressive and she is serving unbelievable.

“She is moving very well, and she’s hitting hard. I think she’s clearly the favourite, she’s got more experience and she beat Jennifer at the US Open but this a totally different thing, this is a final and experience makes a big difference.

“Brady serves great, she has a great forehand, a good backhand but I’m not sure she will have too much time to dictate with her forehand against Naomi that she likes to do and get the position on the court.

“She likes to dominate. I think for Brady it is a little bit of a surprise she is the final but all the credit to her because she has taken her chance very well.

“I am expecting a good final, but I think everything depends on Osaka.”

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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.