{"id":18740,"date":"2019-01-26T21:17:54","date_gmt":"2019-01-26T21:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2019\/01\/26\/naomi-osaka-of-japan-secures-her-second-grand-slam-title-with-australian-open-victory\/"},"modified":"2019-01-26T21:17:54","modified_gmt":"2019-01-26T21:17:54","slug":"naomi-osaka-of-japan-secures-her-second-grand-slam-title-with-australian-open-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/naomi-osaka-of-japan-secures-her-second-grand-slam-title-with-australian-open-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Naomi Osaka Of Japan Secures Her Second Grand Slam Title With Australian Open Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Francesca Paris<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts to her victory over Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the women’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

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Mark Schiefelbein\/AP<\/p>\n

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Mark Schiefelbein\/AP<\/p>\n

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Naomi Osaka walked off the court at the Australian Open with her second consecutive Grand Slam victory, cementing her rise to the top of the women’s tennis world. <\/p>\n

She defeated Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic on Saturday, edging out a victory after losing the second set \u2014 a hitch that nearly derailed the 21-year-old player. <\/p>\n

After winning the first set 7-6 (2), a visibly frustrated Osaka put her face in her hand during the second set, then covered her head with a towel as she walked off the court after losing 5-7. But she returned with renewed determination, sealing her victory with a 6-4 win in the third set.<\/p>\n

“I felt like I didn’t want to have any regrets,” the Japanese player told reporters<\/a> in Melbourne. “I think if I didn’t regroup after the second set, then I would have looked back on this match and probably cried or something.”<\/p>\n

Saturday’s victory in the women’s singles final will catapult Osaka, ranked 72nd<\/a> in the world this time last year, to number one in the Women’s Tennis Association rankings.<\/p>\n

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\n Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova embrace following Osaka’s victory in the match.<\/p>\n

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Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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That will make her the first Asian woman to top the rankings, according to the Australian Open<\/a>, and the first Japanese player of either gender. She’ll also be the youngest woman to reach No. 1 in nearly a decade, following then 20-year-old Caroline Wozniacki’s rise to the top in 2010, the Associated Press reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n