Brady vs Osaka at Australian Open: times, TV & how to watch finals

Naomi Osaka and Jennifer Brady will contest the women’s singles final at Melbourne Park on Saturday with the Australian Open title the prize on offer to the winner. Pre-tournament pundits and bookmakers were in little doubt that Osaka would feature heavily in the running but not many would have placed the 25-year-old Brady in a first Grand Slam final of her career, an achievement made all the more exceptional due to the American being one of the players placed in “hard quarantine” on arrival in Australia and forced to carry out most of her preparation for the tournament in a hotel room.

To reach the final, Osaka had to see off the challenge of Serena Williams in the last four while Brady was projected to go up against crowd favourite Ashleigh Barty, the world number one seeking to go one better than a semi-final appearance last year at her home slam. Czech 25th seed Karolina Muchova scored a surprise win over Barty in the quarters to book her date with Brady, who triumphed in three sets to reach a slam final for the first time.

The American, ranked 24 in the world, has only one WTA Tour title to her name going into the game against three-time Grand Slam champion Osaka but Brady has the game to trouble the Japanese star, as she discovered at last year’s US Open when the two players met in the semi-finals. Osaka described that game as one of the toughest of her career as she edged a three-set thriller 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 en route to the title. Brady’s mix of thumping serves and heavy ground strokes will give Osaka plenty to ponder and the American possesses excellent court coverage, which will go some way to nullifying the Japanese’s own array of ferocious shots.

Osaka will go into the game as the favourite with a 20-game winning streak under her belt, which includes that US Open semi-final win over her opponent on Saturday. But the 2019 champion has been far from impervious in Melbourne, saving match points against Garbiñe Muguruza in the fourth round and Brady’s serve has proven a potent weapon so far, the American being broken only twice on her run to the semifinals where she outgunned Muchova in three.

Brady vs Osaka: head-to-head

Before their three-set encounter at the 2020 US Open, Brady and Osaka had met only twice on the WTA Tour. Osaka came out on top in Charleston in 2018 while Brady took the honours in New Braunfels back in 2014 when both players were starting out – Brady was still at college and made her debut in Grand Slam qualifying later that year at the US Open.

What time does the Brady vs Osaka match start?

The Australian Open 2021 final between Jennifer Brady and Naomi Osaka will be played at Melbourne Park, Melbourne on Saturday 20 February, with the tie getting underway at the local time of 7.30pm (AEDT).

Where can I watch Brady vs Osaka?

In the US, the match between Jennifer Brady and Naomi Osaka will be broadcast on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and the Tennis Channel. The match can also be streamed on fuboTV, ESPN+, Sling, Hulu + Live TV.

In the UK and Europe, viewers can see the match on Eurosport. The match will also be available on the Bet365 app for viewers in the UK, Europe and Australia.