MELBOURNE (AFP) – Naomi Osaka emphatically ended Serena Williams’s latest bid for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam crown with a straight-sets demolition in the Australian Open semifinals Thursday.
The Japanese third seed swept past the American veteran, 6-3, 6-4, on Rod Laver Arena in front of thousands of fans allowed back in after Melbourne lifted a snap five-day lockdown.
She will face either American Jennifer Brady or Czech Karolina Muchova on Saturday for a fourth Slam title after her success at Flushing Meadows in 2018 and last year, and Melbourne in 2019.
The victory left Williams, who won her last major in Melbourne in 2017, stranded on 23 Grand Slam titles as she strives to match Margaret Court’s all-time record.
Since winning while pregnant in Australia four years ago, Williams has lost four Slam finals, including one to Osaka in a controversial and heated 2018 US Open decider which left both women in tears.
Ahead of the showdown, she had won all eight of her previous semi-finals at Melbourne Park stretching back 18 years to when she beat Kim Clijsters on her way to her first title in Australia.
Her first ever Grand Slam semis, against Lindsay Davenport at 1999 US Open, was played when Osaka was just one.
But the 23-year-old boasted a 100 percent win record in Slams when she got past the fourth round, and she kept it intact Thursday.
TSITSIPAS FINDS ‘NIRVANA’
Meantime, Stefanos Tsitsipas said he found “nirvana” on the tennis court as he recovered from two sets down to halt Rafael Nadal’s bid for a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Second seed Nadal was on course for a comfortable victory before Greece’s Tsitsipas turned the quarterfinal around to prevail 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 7-5 in four hours and five minutes.
It was just the second time Nadal had lost when two sets up in a Grand Slam, having previously fallen to Fabio Fognini in the third round of the 2015 US Open.
The fifth seed turned the match on its head after snatching the tiebreak in the third set and clinched the memorable victory with a backhand down the line.
Known as occasionally a hot-headed player, the 22-year-old has made a conscious effort to take a calmer approach, which paid dividends when he was on the brink of elimination against a rampant Nadal.
“I wasn’t thinking about a lot of things,” said Tsitsipas, who hit 49 winners and 17 aces in his second win in eight meetings with Nadal.
“How would I describe myself? Nirvana. Just was there… playing, not thinking.”
He added: “I woke up today and I felt really relaxed. I felt things would go my way.
“I was very serene during the match. Maybe the absence of a crowd kept me like this.”
– ‘Everything I dreamed of’ –
Tsitsipas said celebrating with his father Apostolos and his coaching team, among the few people at Rod Laver Arena during a state-wide coronavirus lockdown, was a “special moment”.
“The way I was able to come back, the way I did, and how I fought against Rafa, was something I’ve never felt before,” he said.
“To be able to hug my team and share that moment of appreciation was epic.
“It’s everything I ever dreamed of.”
Tsitsipas will now attempt to reach a maiden Grand Slam final when he plays the in-form Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final.
“He’s playing very well and is in good shape. I know he is going to give me a difficult time on the court,” said Tsitsipas, who has a 1-5 record against the Russian.
“He’s someone that I really need to be careful with and just take my chances and press.”
“I don’t feel completely exhausted. With experience I have realised how to preserve my energy,” he added, after his second five-set match of the tournament.
Defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic will play the other semi-final against Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev.
Nadal, 34, remains tied with Roger Federer on 20 Grand Slam titles, but Djokovic can pull within two if he wins his 18th major trophy this week.
Nadal was hoping to end a 12-year drought at the Australian Open, the only Slam he has not won multiple times.
