Naomi Osaka has achieved a lot in her career. Four-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one. Itโs hard to believe she has yet to chase first.
Bad Homburg: Results | Order of play | Draws
But after beating Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-3 on Friday in Bad Homburg, Osaka marked another milestone by reaching her first Mercedes-Benz WTA Tour final on grass. It took her just 70 minutes to complete her first career meeting with Wang.
โItโs funny to still be successful when youโre old,โ Osaka said with a laugh afterward. โItโs really fun for me and Iโm really happy.โ
Osaka will face Karolina Muchova, another first-time finalist in Saturdayโs championship match on grass. The No. 4 seed advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse in 1 hour 40 minutes in a match extended due to a heavy delay of more than 90 minutes between sets.
Osaka and Muchova met five times, with Osaka holding a 3-2 head-to-head advantage. She won both of their matches last season โ in the second round of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals of the US Open โ but this will be their first meeting on grass.
Osaka serves well and controls tempo in semifinal win
The 28-year-old looked sharper than ever on grass this week, going straight in wins over Magdalena Frech, Elise Mertens, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Wang. In her match against Wang, she again dominated after the first serve, hitting eight aces and winning 79% of her first serve points. She only faced one break point.
As temperatures rose to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, Osaka came out aggressive, hitting four of her 11 winners in the first game. She then calmed down, slowing down the pace and forcing Wang to go big in an attempt to cut down the points in the heat.
Osaka attacked first, making it 4-2 and not looking back to take the first set. She struck first and in the second game, taking advantage of a series of unforced errors on Wangโs forehand, the shot behind her best chances, and her failure.
Wang earned her only break in the next game to level the match at 2-2, but Osaka responded immediately, hitting three breaks in a row to regain control at 3-2. Further errors sealed Wangโs fate, including back-to-back double faults that sent Osaka into the final and allowed her to get into position for more early players.
The next milestone will be her first title on grass, which will also be her first title since the 2021 Australian Open. Since winning the trophy five years ago, Osaka has lost three tournament finals. And while she won the WTA 125 title on clay in Saint-Malo last year, the title in Bad Homburg will be her first tour-level title on a surface other than hard courts.
But Saint-Malo still holds a special place in Osakaโs heart, as did Bad Homburg, who won on Saturday.
โI know people donโt take this into account, but I won the clay tournament,โ Osaka said. โI know itโs (WTA 125), so for the WTA it doesnโt matter, but for me it meant a lot because it was on clay. And obviously it will mean a lot because itโs on grass and these are surfaces I havenโt won on before.
โSo in that respect it would mean a lot, but other than that I just came here with the goal of playing matches before Wimbledon and I managed to achieve that. Hopefully I can win another match tomorrow.โ
Muchava survived the intense heat, a tense second set to secure her place in the final
In high-pressure situations, in unbearable heat, give Mukhova the opportunity to remain cool as a cucumber.
Cech broke Roose in the final game of both sets to take the win. The final break came after Roose broke Muchova as she served for the match at 5-3, moments after Muchova failed to convert two match points on Rooseโs serve at 5-2. Despite Rooseโs leveling up and the punishment conditions that affected both players, Muchova remained calm, leading up to the victory and even joking afterward.
โIn this heat, I donโt remember what (happened) a minute ago,โ Muchova said in her on-court interview. โI donโt know whatโs going on here in Bad Homburg. The weather is just crazy. Iโm surprised again, I repeat, there are so many people here. I donโt know how you guys do it.
โAnd yeah, I mean we had a break. Me and my team went to the village, ate some bread, took a little break, so it was nice. โI think she started playing really well at the end, so Iโm glad I got a break and Iโm glad I can go have another drink now.โ
The tense finale and subsequent laughter aside, there was certainly a lot to like about Muchovaโs performance, including the fact that she won 85% of her first serve points and again scored more winners than unforced errors (18-15).
Even with the score tight and Rooseโs opportunities, including a break chance at 5-4 in the first set that Muchova saved with a winning volley before breaking in the next game to take the set, Muchova appeared to remain in control for much of the match.
That control will be much harder to find in the final against Osaka, who has repeatedly said how much she enjoys playing in the heat that has plagued Bad Homburg all week. The weather will still be fairly warm on Saturday, although slightly less severe after the final was moved to the morning.
โI think everyone knows that I love the heat,โ Osaka said. โI feel like the hotter it gets, the more itโs in my best interest. But itโs not conditioning or anything like that. I just think Iโm used to it.โ
Whether it will cope with Saturdayโs final remains to be seen. While Osaka is seeking her first title in five years, Muchova is hoping for a second title of the season after winning the WTA 1000 in Doha earlier this year. Of course, both players are also looking to win their first title on grass.
May the best woman win.