MELBOURNE, Australia – For Naomi Osaka, the tournament buzz at the Australian Open spoiled the surprise: she might be facing Serena Williams.
Osaka overpowered Su-Wei Hsieh 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday to reach the semi-final and will meet the winner of the quarter-final between Williams and number 2-seeded Simona Halep.
“Normally I never watch my draw,” said Osaka. “But everyone here has told me about my draw, so I really had no choice but to know who my next opponent is. It’s definitely going to be a lot of fun.”
Seeded third, Osaka reached 122 mph on her serve against Hsieh. She hit seven aces, lost only two points on her first serve, and was never broken en route to her 19th straight win.
Osaka also played an excellent defense, as in the final game, when she rushed forward to chase a drop shot and threw a backhand cross-court to a winner.
“I couldn’t afford to be lazy with my footwork,” Osaka said with a smile. “I didn’t want to play three sets.”
At the age of 35, Hsieh was the oldest woman to make her Grand Slam quarter-final debut in the professional era. But Osaka was not surprised at Hsieh’s flat, deceptive, two-handed blows from both sides, with the forehand winners slamming into both corners.
Hsieh said Osaka is a threat to win the championship.
“She can always go all the way,” Hsieh said. She just needs to play her game and stay calm. She is a great player. ”
Osaka’s winning streak includes a US Open title in September for her third Grand Slam championship. The streak also includes her fourth-round win last week, as she earned two match points and swept the last four matches to overtake Garbine Muguruza.
“It calms me down a bit, knowing that my back was heavy against the wall,” said Osaka.
Osaka is 4-0 in the quarter-finals of Grand Slam, including a win on the way to the Australian Open title in 2019. Her record is 2-1 against Williams, but they haven’t played each other since 2019.
“She’s Serena,” Osaka said. “I feel really intimidated when I see her on the other side of the track.” ‘
In the women’s doubles action, the extended run of the young American team of Coco Gauff and Caty McNally ended in the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 loss to the fourth-placed team of Demi Schuurs from the Netherlands and American. Nicole Melichar.
Gauff and McNally had a 4-1 lead in the opening set before Schuurs and Melichar could make a comeback through a series of casual mistakes. The winners took a 3-1 lead in the second set after a service break and quickly closed the game.
The American pair had beaten two seeded teams in previous games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.