"My head wasn't where it should have been" - Jennifer Brady speaks on her 2021 Australian Open final loss to Osaka

American tennis pro Jennifer Brady raised eyebrows when she made the Australian Open final last year, but the former World No.13 lost to Naomi Osaka and revealed she was not in the right state of mind during that match.

Osaka went into the final with considerable more experience at that level, whereas this was the American's maiden Grand Slam final. Her Japanese opponent prevailed in straight sets, and Brady later admitted she was not mentally prepared for the encounter.

"I went into the match not really ready to become a Grand Slam champion," revealed Brady. "I was like 'oh this is big' My head wasn't where it should have been. It's just an experience. I feel at that level it's all experience.

"I don't think either of us really played that well. She definitely didn't serve as well as she did in New York, I had a lot more opportunities."

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Nonetheless, Brady stated she lacked confidence going into the match, which is surprising considering she took the four-time Grand Slam champion to three sets in the semifinals of the 2020 US Open.

"But deep down I didn't really have the right mindset, I didn't have the belief going into it," said Brady. "So I probably wasn't able to capitalize on that because of that. But obviously all credit to her, she played great, she had a great tournament