MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A quick look at the Australian Open:
LOOKAHEAD TO SUNDAY
Novak Djokovic is aiming to win his ninth Australian Open championship and 18th Grand Slam title overall when he takes on Daniil Medvedev in the men’s final at Rod Laver Arena. The No. 1-seeded Djokovic is 8-0 in finals at Melbourne Park and is trying to close the gap with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for most Slam trophies won by a man. They each have 20. Djokovic appears to have overcome a stomach muscle problem that he picked up in his third-round match. The No. 4-seeded Medvedev is in his second major final. He lost to Nadal at the 2019 U.S. Open. Medvedev is on a 20-match winning streak that includes 12 wins against Top 10 opponents, with one of those coming against Djokovic last season.
SUNDAY'S FORECAST
Partly cloudy, high of 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
SATURDAY'S WEATHER
Mostly cloudy, high of 24 Celsius (75 Fahrenheit).
SATURDAY'S RESULTS
Women’s Singles Final: No. 3 Naomi Osaka beat No. 22 Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 to win her second Australian Open championship and fourth Grand Slam title overall.
Mixed Doubles Final: No. 6 Barbora Krejcikova and Rajeev Ram beat Sam Stosur and Matthew Ebden 6-1, 6-4.
STAT OF THE DAY
4-0 — Osaka's record in Grand Slam finals, the first woman to start her career that way since Monica Seles won her first six major title matches.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Thank you for opening your hearts and your arms towards us. For sure, I feel like playing a Grand Slam right now is a super privilege and it’s something that I won’t take for granted.” — Osaka, addressing the crowd of more than 7,000 at Rod Laver Arena, which was at 50% percent capacity because of COVID-19 restrictions. There were no spectators allowed when she won the U.S. Open in September.
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