The Australian Open semifinals begin on Wednesday night, highlighting the match between 10th place Serena Williams from the United States and third place Naomi Osaka from Japan. It will be her first Grand Slam since the United States Open final. 2018, a victory in Osaka in which Williams received three penalties from the referee.
The winner will face the winner of the other semifinal match: between No. 25 Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic and No. 22 Jennifer Brady from the United States.
See what you should look for in the match, which will start around 10 pm Eastern at the Rod Laver Arena.
Williams can close?
Williams, 39, started his career as one of the biggest locks at the end of Grand Slam events. In her first 28 trips to a Grand Slam semifinal, she won the title 21 times. But due to his shocking defeat to Roberta Vinci in the 2015 US Open semifinals, Williams has struggled to end Slam victories, winning the title just twice in 11 trips to a semifinal.
Since his victory at the 2017 Australian Open, Williams has remained tied to 23 Grand Slam titles, one of the highest plateaus in the history of the sport. Although she already holds the career record for Grand Slam titles in the Open era, which started in 1968, Williams has long been eyeing Margaret Court’s record of 24 major titles.
Osaka, 23, who grew up idolizing Williams, has been flawless in closing Grand Slam wins early in his career. Osaka ran three races in the Grand Slam quarterfinals; each time, she won the tournament. By reaching the semifinals this week, Osaka improved his record in the last three rounds of Grand Slam events to 10-0.
Osaka enters the semifinal against Williams, who won in two of the three matches, having won 19 consecutive matches, the longest streak of their career. His last defeat came more than a year ago, in a Fed Cup match last February.
Williams is defensive.
All three of Osaka’s previous games against Williams came after Williams’ return from maternity leave in 2018. Osaka has never seen Williams moving as well as this week.
Williams joked after his victory in the quarterfinals over the second seed Simona Halep who was motivated to get in shape with the tight jumpsuit he knew he would have to wear on the court in Melbourne. Her improved conditioning was reflected in her walking speed, allowing her to play a breathtaking defense and extend the rallies in ways she couldn’t try in years.
Osaka, who can compete with Williams in terms of power, will not be able to count on the foot speed advantage she had in her previous meetings.
Osaka and Williams made it past the 2018 US Open final.
The 2018 US Open final fell into chaos when Williams incurred increasing penalties from chairman Carlos Ramos for repeated code violations, making the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium furious. Osaka was in tears after the match, and some criticized Williams for ruining his moment.
But despite opportunities to do so if he wanted to, Osaka never publicly blamed Williams for any aspect of that day’s confusion. Williams and emerging young people have not always had affectionate relationships (see: Sloane Stephens), but she has always shown an appreciation for Osaka.
The two have been in good condition since the US Open 2018 and played an exhibition match in Adelaide last month.
“I think she is a great competitor and a nice cat,” Williams said of Osaka on Tuesday.
All coverage will air from 9 pm to 6 am on ESPN2 in the United States; streaming is available on the ESPN + and ESPN3 apps. Here are the other semi-final clashes.
Novak Djokovic vs. Aslan Karatsev
Seedling Novak Djokovic had a health scare in his third round victory over Taylor Fritz, 27th seed, hurting his abdomen when he slipped on the court in the middle of the third set. Visibly struggling, Djokovic needed five sets to prevail over Fritz.
Despite lingering concerns and Djokovic saying the injury would have forced him to withdraw from the tournament had it not been for such an important Grand Slam event, Djokovic played well in his two subsequent games, beating No. 14 Milos Raonic and No. 6 Alexander Zverev in four sets.
His next opponent is considerably less familiar: Aslan Karatsev, a Russian who is playing in his first Grand Slam draw at the age of 27, and became the Cinderella story of the event.
Karatsev, who qualified for the Australian Open by winning three matches in a qualifying event in Qatar last month, used clean and powerful ground strikes from both wings to dismantle other players, including No. 8 Diego Schwartzman and No. 20 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Karatsev advanced to the semifinals after his quarterfinal opponent, No. 18 Grigor Dimitrov, was limited by back spasms.
Djokovic should be expected to advance comfortably if he is healthy, but if he is not, no player was as opportunistic as Karatsev.
Karolina Muchova x Jennifer Brady
Although decidedly an undercard for the previous Osaka-Williams clash, the semifinal between Karolina Muchova and Jennifer Brady can also be attractive.
Muchova, a player on every court, has managed to survive many opponents who play close to their best, including Ashleigh Barty in the quarterfinals. After battling the heat and taking a medical break in the middle of the match, Muchova dominated the final stages, remaining steadfast and determined on his powerful forehand as Barty’s game lost control.
For Brady, whose game is more based on strength since the baseline, the race in Australia is a consolidation of her strong endeavor last summer when she won a WTA tournament in Lexington, Ky., And made it to the US Open semifinals. United States, where she lost to Osaka. Brady spent 14 days in quarantine before the tournament started, and she was the only player in these circumstances to reach the fourth round of the women’s individual draw.