Naomi Osaka has claimed an impressive victory over Serena Williams to reach the Australian Open final and end the American’s latest quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.
On Friday, on Rod Laver court in Melbourne, Australia, the 22-year-old three-time Slam champion beat her 39-year-old opponent 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 15 minutes.
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Serena started in a confident mood, breaking Osaka to take a 2-0 lead but Osaka regrouped the next five games. Serena held serve for 5-3 but Osaka served out the first set 6-3 in 39 minutes.
Osaka broke Serena at the beginning of the second set, forcing her opponent into errors with big and deep forehands.
With the crowd allowed back into Melbourne Park, record-chasing Serena fed off their energy to level the second game at 4-4 but she destroyed all that good work by immediately handing the initiative and momentum back to Osaka with a double fault.
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The Japanese served the match out at the first attempt and she will either face America’s Jennifer Brady or Czech’s Karolina Muchova in Saturday’s final.
She is now on a 20-match unbeaten streak and has never lost a Slam final.
Speaking after her impressive victory, Osaka said;
I hit a lot of unforced errors in the first few games. I was really nervous and scared in the beginning and then I eased my way into it. For me the biggest thing is to just have fun. It’s just always an honor to play her and I just wanted to try my best.
It is the first time Williams has lost a semi-final at Australian Open in eight appearances in the last four.
Osaka and Williams‘ last meeting at a Grand Slam came at the US Open final in 2018 – a match remembered for Williams’ outburst at the umpire and Osaka’s tears at the presentation ceremony.
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Since then, Osaka has won a further two major titles and risen to third in the world rankings, as well as finding more confidence and calmness on court.
