Photo: Andy Cheung / Getty Images
The stakes were high as Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams in the Australian Open semifinals, preventing Williams from the record-breaking 24th Grand Slam title that she has been chasing for years. “I was a child watching her play, and just being on the court playing against her, for me, is a dream”, Osaka, 23 said Williams after the match, which she won in two sets. The two faced each other for the last time in a Grand Slam tournament in the US Open 2018 finals, when Osaka won his first Grand Slam victory. “Sure, every time I play her, I feel like I’m going to remember that a lot,” Osaka. added at his post-game press conference. “For me, I want it to play forever. Well, this is the child in me. “Osaka will face Jennifer Brady in the final, looking for her fourth Grand Slam title – and perhaps until then she will have her biggest cheerleader, rapper boyfriend Cordae, back in the stands.
Williams, meanwhile, was given a standing ovation by the Melbourne crowd, who were rooting for her for the third set. While fans and reporters speculated about his retirement, the 39-year-old actress dismissed questions about it at a news conference. “I don’t know,” she said, asking if that exit was goodbye. “If I said goodbye, I wouldn’t tell anyone.” She then seemed to cry during the next question and left the press conference earlier.