Serena Williams And Naomi Osaka Face Each Other Again, This Time In The Australian Open Semifinals
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka. When you match these two tennis players against each other, you may recall the 2018 US Open:
The Washington Post details the controversy that happened in that match: “During the second set, the chair umpire warned Williams about violating rules by getting signals from her coach. Williams disputed that and told him she was not a cheater. She received another code violation when she smashed her racket onto the court after Osaka had broken her serve. Under WTA and Grand Slam rules, that cost her a point. Two games later, she demanded that the umpire apologize for ‘stealing’ a point from her.”
“I know you guys were here rooting, and I was rooting, too, but let’s make this the best moment we can,” Williams said to the crowd after the match per The Washington Post. “We’ll get through it … Let’s not boo anymore. Let’s get through this.”
You may be surprised to hear that this wasn’t their only match as The Washington Post notes they played each other four times, including that US Open match, with the series being tied at two-a-piece.
It’s now 2021 and the stage is in Australia.
The Australian Open semifinals, to be exact. And it’d be another Williams and Osaka match, this time from ‘Down Under’. That would make this the fifth time the two would play against each other.
Game, set, match
Osaka won the match in two sets and advanced to the finals.
“Melbourne and my Australian fans- Today was not (the) ideal outcome or performance but it happens…” Williams said in an Instagram post. “Today was not ideal outcome or performance but it happens… I am so honored to be able to play in front of you all. Your support -your cheers, I only wish I could have done better for you today. I am forever in debt and grateful to each and everyone single one of you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I adore you.”
“I’m most proud of how mentally strong I’ve become,” Osaka said per a WTA Insider. “The quarantine process and seeing everything that’s going on in the world, it put a lot into perspective. I used to weigh my entire existence on if I won or lost a tennis match. That’s just not how I feel any more.”
“It’s always an honour playing her,” Osaka said after the match about Williams via The Guardian. “I didn’t want to go out without trying my best…I was a little kid watching her play and just to be on the court playing against her for me is a dream.”
Here’s the highlights from the match:
“My young aspirations owe so much to Serena and Venus,” Osaka wrote in a column for The Telegraph last month per ESPN. “Without those trailblazers, there would be no Naomi, no Coco [Gauff], no Sloane [Stephens], no Madison [Keys]. Everything we did was inspired by them, and my sister and I would dream about one day playing them in a Grand Slam final.”
Osaka will now play Jennifer Brady in the Australian Open Final.
Contents
What to Read Next...
At The Buzzer, or ATB is the place for those who love sports, life, family, community, and so much more. We are far from the run-of-the-mill 24/7 sports news websites. We not only bring you what’s happening in the world of sports in terms of trades and breaking news, but we also bring you the news that goes on behind the scenes, like big life moments, and so much more. So take a minute and read one of our articles, we promise you won't regret it.