Naomi Osaka seals place in US Open final with victory over Jennifer Brady

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 11/09/2020 at 07:50 GMT

Naomi Osaka held her nerve to reach the US Open final with a hard-fought win against American Jennifer Brady at Flushing Meadows. The 22-year-old will face former world number one Victoria Azarenka in the final after the Belarusian beat Serena Williams in the other semi-final.

Naomi Osaka sealed her place in the US Open final with a 7-6 3-6 6-3 victory over Jennifer Brady at Flushing Meadows.

The fourth seed reached her third Grand Slam final with a superb performance in what was a match of the highest quality on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Brady, who had not dropped a single set in reaching the last four, pushed Osaka all the way with some inspired play and only came up just short in the deciding set.

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• US Open 2020 order of play and schedule
• US Open 2020 results and scores
• Azarenka reaches US Open final as Serena suffers injury heartbreak

Osaka won the first of two consecutive Grand Slam titles in New York two years ago and produced 35 winners in a hugely-impressive display.

"I really love the atmosphere even though there's sadly no people here," said Osaka. "This court really suits me well."

The 22-year-old's victory sets up a final against former world number one Victoria Azarenka who later battled past third seed Serena Williams in the second semi-final.

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Osaka has progressed beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam three times and reached the final on each occasion with two titles to her name.

Now she has the opportunity of a New York double and a third Slam in Saturday's showpiece final.

Naomi Osaka of Japan celebrates winning match point during her Women's Singles semifinal match against Jennifer Brady of the United States on Day Eleven of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

Image credit: Getty Images

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