MELBOURNE, Australia – Once again, Serena Williams came within reach of a record 24th Grand Slam title and played well enough on Thursday to reach the final days of a major tournament. And again, Williams didn’t quite get it done, as she was defeated 6-3, 6-4 by Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Osaka, who also defeated Williams in the chaotic 2018 US Open final, reached her fourth major title match and expanded her winning streak to 20 games by claiming the last eight points.
“I don’t know if there are any little kids here today, but I was a little kid watching her play,” said Osaka, 23, about Williams, 39, “and just playing on the field against her, for me, is a dream. “
Osaka will take on either No. 25 seed Karolina Muchova or 22nd seeded American Jennifer Brady in the final.
The No. 3-seeded Osaka’s Grand Slam collection also includes last year’s US Open and 2019 Australian Open and she is without a doubt the most dangerous hard court player in the women’s game right now.
That was Williams, of course. But she was too far outside the goal in this match and ended up with twice as many casual errors, 24, as winners, 12.
“I could have won. I could have won 5-Love,” said Williams, who instead took a 2-0 lead at the start before dropping the next five games. “I just made so many mistakes.”
Her forehand in particular went wrong, with no less than 10 unforced errors from that side in the first set alone.
“Too many mistakes there,” she said. “Easy mistakes.”
Williams’ frustration became apparent at the start of the second set when she bent over and shouted, “Take a shot! Take a shot!”
After collecting her professional record 23rd Slam Singles trophy in Melbourne Park while pregnant in 2017, Williams reached four major finals and lost them all.
She has now also lost in the semi-finals twice in that period.
23-year-old Osaka joined two other players and won each of their first two major games against Williams. Williams’s sister, Venus, won her first three major gigs at the 1998 Australian Open, Wimbledon 2000 and the 2001 US Open. The other is Jennifer Capriati at the French Open in 2001 and at Wimbledon in 2001, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
Spectators were back in the stands at the Rod Laver Arena on Thursday after being banned from the tournament for five days during a local COVID-19 lockdown. About 7,000 people were allowed into the Williams-Osaka stadium, about half its capacity.
Messengers walked down the aisles at changes to remind fans to wear masks or over their noses and mouths.
On the hottest day of the hard court tournament yet – 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) – Osaka got off to a shaky start, perhaps forced to push into her opening game by a thriving backhand return winner from Williams on the second point of the game.
That was followed by a double fault, a wild forehand, and finally a netted backhand that handed over a break. Williams quickly went up 2-0, then had another breakpoint with a chance of a 3-0 lead on another double error by Osaka.
“I was just really, really nervous and scared, I think, at the beginning,” said Osaka, who was born in Japan and moved to the US when she was 3. “
The Associated Press contributed to this report.