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Naomi Osaka claimed an impressive victory over Serena Williams to reach the Australian Open final and end the American’s last quest for a record 24 Grand Slam titles.
Osaka, a three-time Slam champion, withstood initial pressure from Williams to win 6-3 6-4.
Osaka is on a 20-game unbeaten streak and has never lost a Slam final.
The Japanese will face either American Jennifer Brady or Czech Karolina Muchova in Saturday’s final.
“I was really nervous and scared at first and then I made my way,” Osaka said.
“It’s always an honor to play her and I didn’t really want to go wrong. I just wanted to do my best.”
It is the first time Williams has lost a semifinal at the Australian Open, a streak that dates back 18 years.
It is also her first loss in 14 games against a player in the top five in a Grand Slam.
Williams will regret the opportunities she missed and will once again wonder if she will match Margaret Court’s important record.
Osaka has his own
Osaka and Williams’ last meeting at a Grand Slam was at the US Open final in 2018, a match remembered for Williams’ outburst before the referee and Osaka’s tears at the presentation ceremony.
Since then, Osaka has won two other major titles and climbed to third place in the world rankings, as well as finding more confidence and calm on the court.
It was Williams, with all her experience, who made the best start, breaking a nervous Osaka in the first game of the match before holding her own serve to take a 2-0 lead.
Although Osaka’s serve was not at its best, his power and increasingly comfortable movements allowed him to strike back, taking advantage of a drop in Williams’ game to win six of the last seven games and take the first set.
Williams’s own serve, such a big weapon in her game, didn’t fire, and she was more frustrated when her big shots missed and Osaka’s found the line.
The 10th seeded screamed at herself to “hit a shot” as she mixed easy mistakes with powerful winners to go for an early break, but it looked like the game would turn around when she recovered.
A tentative Osaka, serving a 5-4 lead, was broken to 30, with the crowd cheering for Williams, but the Japanese showed tremendous courage to instantly counter-attack.
He broke Williams in love and then produced four great first serves, including an ace, to wrap up the match in 75 minutes.
What’s next for Williams?
The biggest frustration for Williams will be that, for much of the game, she stayed with Osaka, before simple mistakes disappoint her.
Williams had been so impressive against second-seeded Simona Halep in the quarterfinals and this seemed to be her best chance yet to beat Osaka for the second time in four meetings.
Her movement and general fitness are as good as they have been since she returned from maternity leave in 2018.
But Osaka often won on the longest rallies, her easy power allowed her to finish the point with a winner, and Williams couldn’t find a way to get past her, finishing with 24 unforced errors against 12 winners.
With his first serve percentage dropping, Williams tried to push himself forward, but could do nothing to prevent Osaka from winning the final eight points of the match.
Her coach Patrick Mouratoglou has said the 39-year-old is “not obsessed” with equaling Court’s record, but it is no secret that she has used it as motivation on her return to the Tour.
It has been said that by equaling the record, Williams would secure her status as the greatest of all time, but if the heartfelt cheers from the crowd at Rod Laver Arena, she has long secured that title.
