Japan’s Naomi Osaka prevented the first ever Czech women’s singles final at a Grand Slam by becoming the first player to beat Karolina Pliskova in 2019 to set up a career meeting with Petra Kvitova in the Australian Open final.
The eighth-seeded Kvitova was saved by the roof in her match against surprise semifinalist Danielle Collins. In the first set, the two-time Wimbledon champion felt tired and couldn’t have a full swing, but after umpire Carlos Ramos announced the closing of the roof on Rod Laver Arena because the heat index read 5 at 4-4, Kvitova won eight of the next ten games, plus the tiebreak en route to a 7-6(2) 6-0 victory over the unseeded American and her first Australian Open final.