Naomi Osaka reaches Australian Open final, closes in on world No. 1

U.S. Open women's champion Naomi Osaka defeated Karolina Pliskova on Thursday to book a spot in the Australian Open final, where she can become the first Japanese world No. 1 tennis player if she wins her second straight Grand Slam title.Osaka, who extended her streak of winning matches after taking the first set to 59, rallied to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory against the eighth-ranked Czech at Rod Laver Arena to set up a women's singles final against Pliskova's compatriot Petra Kvitova.The 21-year-old Osaka reached the final of a major for the second time in her career, and is the only Japanese …READ FULL ARTICLE