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  • French Open: Naomi Osaka wins first spherical, skips information convention as promised

    Naomi Osaka skipped her post-match information convention on the French Open on Sunday, as promised.
    That didn’t imply she prevented a query about her issues succeeding on crimson clay.
    Osaka returned to Roland Garros after skipping the journey final time, delivering a mistake-filled 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over 63rd-ranked Patricia Maria Tig at Court Philippe Chatrier on Day 1 of the Grand Slam match.
    After the 2020 French Open was pushed to a September begin with a restrict of 1,000 spectators per day due to the coronavirus outbreak, issues had been nearer to regular Sunday: It was a sun-kissed May day and greater than 5,000 followers permitted, with a delay of solely per week this 12 months resulting from COVID-19 considerations.
    While not fairly again to its packed pre-pandemic self, Roland Garros did bubble with cheers and tennis.
    Other outcomes maybe had been extra newsworthy _ three-time main champion Angelique Kerber’s third straight first-round loss in Paris, for instance _ however the No. 2-ranked Osaka’s actions after her match had been of curiosity.

    🧡’1 pic.twitter.com/o0rO28g21Q
    — NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 30, 2021
    That’s as a result of she declared through the week that she gained’t take part in information conferences in Paris _ and she or he didn’t do a pre-tournament session with the media. What remained unclear was whether or not she would take part within the perfunctory alternate of pleasantries with on-court “interviewers” who lob softball questions so spectators can hear one thing from match winners.
    As it turned out, Osaka did go forward with that chat with former participant Fabrice Santoro, who’s hardly a journalist and kindly provided to assist Osaka by carrying the flowers she was given by the match.
    Santoro truly did increase the subject of the occasion’s floor, noting that Osaka’s Grand Slam titles solely have come on arduous courts.
    She has gained the Australian Open twice, together with this 12 months, and the U.S. Open twice, together with final 12 months. But she by no means has been previous the third spherical on the French Open.
    “I would say it’s a work in progress,” Osaka stated about her sport on clay. “Hopefully the more I play, the better it will get.”
    Osaka wrote in a Twitter submit Wednesday that she was not going to take part in the usual back-and-forth with the media in Paris _ the form of factor athletes in numerous sports activities do as a matter in fact. She framed it as a psychological well being problem, saying that it creates self-doubt to must reply questions after a loss.

    ❤️ pic.twitter.com/EegFSKnoie
    — NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 26, 2021
    Players at Grand Slam tournaments are required to attend information conferences if requested to take action; refusing is punishable by fines of as much as $20,000, which isn’t a lot of a giant deal to Osaka, the world’s highest-earning feminine athlete due to endorsement offers totaling tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars}.
    French Open organizers didn’t instantly reply to emailed questions on Osaka’s press convention and whether or not she could be fined.
    “It’s her own choice. I think she’s capable of making her own choices and obviously she will do always what’s best for her,” Tig stated. “I think that’s what’s happening now. It’s her choice of doing what she feels is best for her.”
    As for her impression of Osaka’s on-court means on clay, Tig provided this evaluation: “If she wins, she’ll get used to it. She can play pretty much as good on clay as she performs on arduous courts.“
    Osaka confirmed how Sunday: controlling factors along with her attacking sport. She gained 31 of 35 factors when her first serve landed in and amassed 39 winners _ greater than twice as many as Tig’s 18.
    Osaka subsequent faces 102nd-ranked Ana Bogdan, who swept apart Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1, 6-3.
    The Twenty sixth-seeded Kerber was crushed 6-2, 6-4 by Anhelina Kalinina, a qualifier from Ukraine ranked 139th and making her match debut.
    Roland Garros thus stays the one Grand Slam title that Kerber hasn’t gained: She was the champion on the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2018.
    Also, 2019 Australian Open semifinalist and 2020 French Open quarterfinalist Danielle Collins defeated Wang Xiyu 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
    In males’s motion, twelfth seeded Pablo Carreno Busta beat Norbert Gombos 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, and Twenty seventh-seeded Fabio Fognini broke a racket alongside the way in which to eliminating French wild-card entry Gregoire Barrere 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.

  • Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep advance to second spherical in Madrid Open

    Second-seeded Naomi Osaka made her return to clay to beat Misaki Doi 7-5, 6-2 within the first spherical of the Madrid Open on Friday.
    Osaka overcame Doi’s robust begin by hitting six aces and breaking her serve 5 instances.
    A leg damage meant Osaka missed final season’s clay-court swing, and her final particular person event on the floor was at Roland Garros in 2019. She performed and misplaced for Japan in opposition to Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo within the Fed Cup in February 2020.
    Osaka, the U.S. Open and Australian Open champion, subsequent performs Karolina Muchova after the Czech beat Qiang Wang 6-1, 6-3.
    Third-seeded Simona Halep, who gained the event in 2016 and ’17, beat Sorribes Tormo 6-0, 7-5.
    Maria Sakkari roared again after shedding the primary seven video games of her match in opposition to Amanda Anisimova to win 0-6, 6-1, 6-4.
    Daria Kasatkina wanted three match factors to see off Irina-Camelia Begu 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1).
    Fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka defeated Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-2.
     

  • Moving on at Miami: Naomi Osaka has received 22 consecutive matches

    Naomi Osaka may by no means hit a worse shot. Not that it mattered.
    The world’s No. 2-ranked lady shanked a serve that sailed over her opponent’s head, however shook off the mishit to win her twenty second match in a row Friday, beating Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6 (3), 6-4 within the second spherical on the Miami Open.
    Serving into the solar within the ultimate sport, Osaka clunked her shot off the lip of her racket, blooping the ball previous an astonished Tomljanovic.
    “That was actually kind of funny when I got past my frustration,” Osaka mentioned.
    “The sun was like on top of a cloud, and it gave off this really weird glare effect. It was kind of my fault for being stubborn and not trying to catch my toss and wait it out.”
    Other serves had been a lot better, Osaka hit 13 aces. She hasn’t misplaced in additional than a yr, and her profitable streak consists of her fourth Grand Slam title on the Australian Open final month.

    She wants just one extra victory for her finest displaying in 5 appearances in Miami, the place she has traditionally made early exits.
    “I don’t think there’s too much you can read into them,” Osaka mentioned. “I think there’s always a reason I haven’t done well here, and hopefully I’m able to do well this time.”
    In males’s play, No. 3-seeded Alexander Zverev double-faulted thrice on break level and misplaced to No. 83-ranked Emil Ruusuvuori, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. Zverev was coming off a run to the title final week in Acapulco.
    No. 1-seeded Daniil Medvedev wanted lower than an hour to beat 37-year-old Yen-hsun Lu 6-2, 6-2. Three different seeded males lost- No. 8 David Goffin, No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 30 Reilly Opelka.
    Goffin, a semifinalist in 2016, was upset by James Duckworth 6-3, 6-1. Dimitrov was swept by Cameron Norrie 7-5, 7-5. No. 30 Reilly Opelka misplaced to Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-2.
    In different girls’s play, No. 10 Kiki Bertens was upset by Liudmila Samsonova, 6-2, 6-1, and No. 13 Jennifer Brady misplaced to Sara Sorribes Tormo 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. No. 4 Sofia Kenin rallied previous Andrea Petkovic 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3.
    Winning in straight units had been No. 6 Karolina Pliskova, No. 8 Bianca Andreescu, No. 12 Garbine Muguruza and No. 16 Elise Mertens.
    Muguruza, who received the Dubai Championships earlier this month, improved her 2021 file to 19-4 by beating wild card Xinyu Wang 6-4, 6-1.
    “I was actually quite nervous, because this is a tournament that I love,” Muguruza mentioned.
    “After playing well in the Middle East swing, I just wanted to keep the same energy and the same quality of tennis.”Pliskova dropped her first service sport however settled down to comb Zheng Saisai 6-2, 6-1. Mertens was a degree from trailing 4-0 however rallied previous Katie Boulter 6-4, 6-1.

  • Ashleigh Barty unsure of schedule as Naomi Osaka closes in on her prime spot

    Australian Ash Barty has supplied no certainty if she’s going to play often on the ladies’s tour amid the COVID-19 pandemic regardless of Naomi Osaka closing in on her world primary rating with a fourth Grand Slam title in Melbourne.
    Barty accepted a wildcard to defend her Adelaide International title this week after making an exit on the quarter-final stage of her house Grand Slam with a defeat to Czech Karolina Muchova.
    The Queenslander skipped final 12 months’s U.S. Open and didn’t defend her 2019 French Open title, opting to not journey because of well being considerations amid the pandemic.
    Barty, who is predicted to move to the Middle East subsequent month to play WTA occasions in Doha and Dubai, stated she confronted no health points through the Melbourne Park swing regardless of returning to the circuit after 11 months.
    “We plan as best as we can,” the 24-year-old advised reporters in Adelaide on Monday. “Obviously within the present scenario nothing’s sure. It’s troublesome to plan, surely, however we simply go together with the recommendation that we now have been given.
    “Of course I would love to be back on tour full-time, and all those decisions will come as close as we can to the events, but also as far out to try and plan a schedule and plan a tour.”
    Barty didn’t play for 11 months however has nonetheless held on to her prime spot as the ladies’s governing physique adjusted the WTA rankings as a result of pandemic, permitting gamers the flexibility to skip tournaments with out the concern of shedding factors.
    In distinction, second-ranked Osaka received final 12 months’s U.S. Open and the Australian Open on Saturday however nonetheless finds herself greater than 1,300 factors behind the Australian.
    “There’s no extra pressure. The extra pressure is non-existent for me,” Barty stated about Osaka’s ascent.
    “I can’t control what anyone else does. For the tournaments or with the rankings, that’s out of my control. As for defending points, I think that’s a very negative way to look at it.”
    The rivalry between Barty and 23-year-old Osaka may very well be the spotlight function of the tour for the subsequent few years.
    “I’ve only played her a couple times. We haven’t played a lot,” Barty stated, including she had not watched Saturday’s closing between Osaka and American Jennifer Brady.
    “So hopefully it’s a chance for me to play towards her in some large moments in large tournaments. That’s what we dream of … making an attempt to place your self in place to win large titles.
    “So maybe it will happen one day but for the time being that’s not what I’m stressed about.”

  • Already a star, on courtroom and off, Naomi Osaka eyes extra

    Naomi Osaka already is a star at age 23. She has the 4 Grand Slam titles, the record-breaking endorsement offers and the willingness to talk her thoughts to show it.
    Now the query is: Where does she go from right here?
    It was telling that the second query posed to Osaka on the information convention following her 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jennifer Brady within the Australian Open remaining Saturday — after she took a sip of celebratory bubbly that she stated made her “feel a little bit funny” — was about delivering higher performances at Wimbledon and the French Open.
    After all, every of her main championships to date got here on exhausting courts at Melbourne Park (2019, 2021) or the U.S. Open (2018, 2020). She by no means has been previous the third spherical on the All England Club or Roland Garros.
    Even extra revealing was Osaka’s response.
    Asked whether or not her first non-hard-court Slam trophy will come on clay or grass, she stated: “Hopefully clay, because it’s the one that’s sooner.”
    She will not be about biding her time or affected person enchancment.

    Fourth main title: ✅@naomiosaka‘s rise to the highest ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Ie1YN7sxZR
    — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 20, 2021
    And she’s been desirous about the place she wants to enhance.
    “It was one of her goals this year to play well outside of the hard courts. She’s still very young. It’s time to grow on those surfaces. She also believes she can do well and, I’m sure, with the right preparation, with a few, maybe, tactical (and) technical adjustments, we’re going to do well,” stated her coach, Wim Fissette. “She’s the person that wants to grow.”
    Part of what makes Osaka particular is embracing challenges and realizing what she stands for.
    That’s been the case off the courtroom and on.
    With a racket in her hand, it’s about, as Fissette put it, with the ability to “love big matches and big moments.”
    Osaka needed to face 23-time main champion Serena Williams within the semifinals, for instance.
    No concern there.

    Naomi Osaka overcame these deficits en path to her 4 Grand Slam titles 🤯 @espnW
    (h/t @BastienFachan) pic.twitter.com/C7LOKcRSFt
    — ESPN (@espn) February 20, 2021
    “She was like when I bring my kids to the toy store: They are very excited. And Naomi was excited to go on court with Serena. It’s just beautiful to see,” Fissette stated. “At the end, this is what you train for, right? To be on the biggest stage with the best player of all time, Serena.”
    Away from the sport, Osaka says, it took time to search out her voice and categorical her views.
    She was born in Japan to a Japanese mom and Haitian father, and she or he moved to the United States when she was 3. Last August, she was the primary tennis professional to hitch athletes from different sports activities in strolling out to protest the police capturing of a Black man in Wisconsin.
    “Before I am an athlete,” Osaka tweeted on the time, “I am a black woman.”
    On her option to the U.S. Open title in September, Osaka wore masks bearing the names of seven Black victims of violence to attract consideration to racism and police brutality.

    Absolute insanity. quantity 4 #ausopen pic.twitter.com/cjFNcl7iQH
    — NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) February 20, 2021
    On Saturday, Osaka was requested whether or not there was a message she needed related together with her newest triumph, which made her 4 for 4 in Slam finals.
    “Honestly, for me, when everything happened in New York, I got really scared, because I felt like it put me into this light that was a non-athletic light that I’ve never been in before,” she stated. “So I feel like there is a lot of topics that people suddenly started asking me about that I completely didn’t know about at all. For me, I only like to talk when I’m knowledgeable about the subject or at least know, like, one tiny grain of what I’m about to start talking about. So for me, I just came into this tournament just thinking purely about tennis.”
    And but, within the aftermath of profitable the trophy, she was prepared to consider a bigger function, too.
    Many checked out her win in opposition to Williams as a passing of the mantle. Osaka additionally received their assembly within the 2018 U.S. Open remaining — who might neglect that one? — and has eclipsed the 39-year-old American because the highest-earning feminine athlete due to tens of millions in sponsorship offers.
    But to Osaka, Williams continues to be, and at all times will likely be, an idol and an inspiration, a participant whose instance she needed to observe.
    And one of the best ways to repay that, Osaka figures, is to carry that function for others.
    “Hopefully I play long enough to play a girl that said that I was once her favorite player or something,” Osaka stated. “For me, I think that’s the coolest thing that could ever happen to me. … That’s how the sport moves forward.”

  • Australian Open: Naomi Osaka beats Jen Brady for fourth Grand Slam

    The hassle for Naomi Osaka at Grand Slam tournaments is available in Week 1. Get past that on the hard-court majors, although, and begin making ready to etch her title on the trophy.
    Osaka received her fourth title in her previous eight appearances at a Slam, rising from what initially was a decent Australian Open remaining and pulling away by grabbing six consecutive video games to beat Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday.
    With sturdy serving that produced six aces, Osaka improved to 4-0 in main finals, the primary lady to start out her profession that approach since Monica Seles did it 30 years in the past. For Osaka, that’s a part of a 12-0 file up to now within the quarterfinals and past on the majors.

    When desires turn into a actuality 😁@naomiosaka | #AO2021 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/V34jTo3glq
    — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 20, 2021
    The 2020 AP Female Athlete of the Year can also be on a 21-match successful streak that dates to final season. That features a championship finally yr’s U.S. Open. She additionally received the U.S. Open in 2018, and the Australian Open in 2019.
    The 23-year-old Osaka was born in Japan and moved to the United States along with her household when she was 3.
    Brady is a 25-year-old American who was enjoying in her first Grand Slam remaining. She needed to undergo a tough quarantine for 15 days when she arrived in Australia in January as a result of somebody on her flight examined constructive for COVID-19 once they arrived.

    Concentration at 💯🙌@naomiosaka | #AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/qFF1eC1pkt
    — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 20, 2021
    This was an enormous step up in competitors throughout this event for Brady, who had not confronted anybody ranked within the Top 25 nor anybody who beforehand appeared in a lot as one Grand Slam semifinal.
    During the pre-match coin toss, the silver girls’s trophy stood on a transparent, plastic pedestal not removed from Osaka on her facet of the online. After beating Serena Williams within the semifinals, Osaka had made her intentions clear: “I have this mentality that people don’t remember the runners-up. You might, but the winner’s name is the one that’s engraved.”
    And she retains ensuring that title is hers.

    It’s a privilege for us to observe you @naomiosaka 💙#AO2021 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/84dxjSnec0
    — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 20, 2021
    It was cooler than it’s been in Melbourne lately, with the temperature down under 70 levels Fahrenheit (20 levels Celsius) and a breeze that made serve tosses troublesome for each gamers, who would catch the ball as a substitute of hit it and say, “Sorry!”
    The stadium was allowed to be at half capability _ about 7,500 followers _ after spectators have been barred fully earlier within the event for 5 days throughout a COVID-19 lockdown.
    In the boys’s remaining Sunday (7:30 p.m. native time, 3:30 a.m. EST), No. 1 Novak Djokovic will likely be in search of his ninth Australian Open championship and 18th Grand Slam trophy general. He faces No. 4 Daniil Medvedev, who carries a 20-match successful streak into his second main remaining.
    Only two lively girls personal extra Slam titles than Osaka: Williams, with 23, and her sister, Venus, with seven.
    Next job for Osaka is bettering on clay and grass: She’s by no means been previous the third spherical on the French Open or Wimbledon.

    “I told everyone that you were going to be a problem and I was right.”
    An Osaka-style praise, little question @jennifurbrady95 😅 @naomiosaka | #AO2021 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/UMnukGGMlD
    — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 20, 2021
    On Saturday, the ultimate was locked at 4-all, when Brady used an on-the-run lob winner that she punctuated by waving her arms to request extra noise from the gang. That earned a break level _ convert that, and he or she would serve for the opening set.
    But Osaka erased the prospect with a cross-court forehand winner, and two errors by Brady made it 5-4.
    Osaka then broke to seize the set, helped by Brady’s double-fault and a netted forehand on a brief ball to finish it.
    That was a part of the six-game run that put Osaka forward 4-0 within the second and he or she was on her approach.

    💙🏆@naomiosaka | #AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/IRJW8zXSl4
    — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 20, 2021

  • Australian Open: Osaka raises recreation, ends error-prone Serena’s document bid

    Then there have been tears. A distinguished subject of dialogue in Serena Williams’ post-match press convention was the essential unforced errors she dedicated throughout her straight-sets loss to Naomi Osaka. It’s not that the veteran 39-year-old hasn’t confronted robust losses earlier than, nor the questions that comply with such matches, in Grand Slams or on the WTA Tour. But what maybe harm extra about this 6-3, 6-4 loss within the Australian Open semi-final is that it prolongs her seek for an all-time document equalling twenty fourth Grand Slam title.
    “I don’t know,” she stated, tearing up, including “I’m done,” after which exited the convention.

    After her semifinal loss to Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams leaves the pressroom in tears.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/g95Fva006O
    — Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) February 18, 2021
    As the event progressed and her performances began to enhance, echoes had began to develop that this may be the occasion the place the tenth seed would win that elusive twenty fourth Slam. In a approach, it appeared prefer it was all the time meant to occur in Australia. For it was right here, on the Rod Laver Arena in 2017 when she broke Steffi Graf’s Open Era tally of twenty-two main wins.
    At the identical time although, on the opposite aspect of the online she was developing in opposition to a sure third seed Naomi Osaka. The 23-year-old, usually dubbed the ‘Next Serena,’ is a power-hitter who modelled her recreation on her idol. She’s already a three-time Grand Slam champion in her personal proper (beating Williams within the ultimate of the US Open in 2018 for her first title), and together with Simona Halep, is arguably probably the most constant girls’s singles participant on the Grand Slam stage previously 5 years.
    And coming into the semi-final on Thursday morning, she had been in equally devastating kind. She additionally had an incredible document going for her – on the three events she’s reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal, she’s gone on to win it.
    But within the semi-final, it wouldn’t simply come right down to Williams’ unforced errors that determined the match.

    🚨 OSAKA ADVANCES 🚨
    She takes down Serena Williams in straight units to advance to the finals on the #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/IJ9Xjh7w0l
    — ESPN (@espn) February 18, 2021
    Osaka’s wavering serve
    The younger Japanese struggled to register many first serves within the first set. In all, she’d handle simply 12 from 33 makes an attempt at an unenviable fee of 33 %. It was a harmful day to falter on the primary serve, particularly since Williams, in her earlier match in opposition to Halep, had demolished the Romanian’s second serve.
    The American continued that development, breaking Osaka within the opening recreation of the match.
    There was a slight enchancment within the stats within the second set, 15 from 27 first serves in (56 %). But within the eight recreation of the second set, Osaka, who had been main within the set until then, dropped serve.
    Serving up at 4-3, in a recreation that lasted six factors, Osaka managed to get in only one first serve, and conceded three factors by a double fault – together with the break level for Williams.
    Her efficiency took an upswing when it mattered although. She obtained in all 4 first serves when she served for the match – profitable it with out dropping a degree.

    Here’s Naomi Osaka’s legendarily trustworthy reply on how she is aware of the place Serena Williams’ serve goes 🤣 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/y60IS2nzYc
    — Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) February 18, 2021
    The groundstroke battle
    Former males’s World No 21 Taylor Dent had as soon as in commentary said: “First serves are to close points. Second serves are to start points.”
    With Osaka’s first serves going out and in, she wanted to depend on her groundstrokes to bail her out. And the standard of her photographs did simply that.
    Osaka powered again photographs Williams would cannon at her, typically with curiosity. On a couple of event she would strike a backhand cross courtroom winner at an inconceivable angle leaving 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur asking in commentary: “How did she do that?”
    One of these photographs got here when Osaka broke Williams to go up 5-4 within the second set.
    In all, Osaka would strike 20 winners to 21 unforced errors.
    Meanwhile Williams had 24 unforced errors to only 12 winners – she had no forehand winners within the first set.
    “The difference today was errors,” Williams stated after the match. “I made so many errors today. Honestly, it was opportunities where I could have won. I could have been up 5-love. I just made so many errors.”

    “For today I felt like I needed some extra strength, so yeah. That’s kind of why I’m wearing this.”@naomiosaka x @Lakers 💪#AusOpen | #AO2021 | #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/9hEkE5DXWu
    — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 18, 2021
    Anticipating Williams’ serve
    Despite proudly owning a giant serve, Williams managed simply three aces – a credit score to Osaka’s anticipation.
    Jim Courier even requested Osaka about it after the match.
    “I was just guessing,” got here the reply. “It’s either going this way or that way, I just have to put my foot somewhere.”
    A secret it might stay, as to how Osaka was prepared to maneuver in the proper course each time Williams served. But then once more, she’s grown up watching her idol, and claims she likes to look at Williams play every time doable. Subconsciously maybe, she simply knew the place to be, and easy methods to make the return that the American would wrestle to discover a reply for.

  • Serena v Osaka: Power-hitters conflict in blockbuster Australian Open semifinal

    When the Australian Open draw was made on February 5, the second half of the ladies’s singles draw attracted intrigue. And because the matches got here and went, and as Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams went about their enterprise dominating the tennis court docket, it was clear that it was not going to be a matter of ‘if,’ however quite ‘when’ the 2 titans of ladies’s tennis meet within the semi-final.
    Sure there was the prospect of World No 2 Simona Halep – a title contender in her personal proper – disrupting the narrative by defeating Williams within the quarterfinal – you would argue that it was an ‘upset’ if the Romanian did win that match.
    But definitely it could have denied one other thrilling chapter on this most respectful rivalry between a legend and an apprentice as soon as dubbed the ‘Next Serena’; the 2 most recognisable tennis gamers on the planet right this moment.
    “If it happens, then I’m sure a lot of people will be excited,” Osaka had mentioned earlier than Williams performed Halep on Tuesday.
    And when Williams took to Rod Laver Arena and beat Halep in what was, by her personal admission, the very best match she performed up to now on this match. It assured that the fourth conflict between Williams and Osaka – the second ever at a Grand Slam (the primary was when Osaka received the US Open title in 2018) – got here at a time when each have hit their stride.
    The solely disappointment for followers is that they won’t get the ultimate that that they had hoped to see, however they’ll get a semi-final they wished when the draw was made.
    Heavy hitters
    In most respects, each their video games are related. The 39-year-old Williams has lengthy been one of the vital highly effective gamers on tour. She has an enormous serve and equally large groundstrokes that complement her all-round attacking sport that has seen her win an Open Era document 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
    Osaka in the meantime, grew up modelling her personal skill-set primarily based on the participant she has idolised from an early age.
    So far each have received 79 per cent factors on their first serves. And the nice and cozy Melbourne circumstances anticipated on Thursday, aided by the quick Australian Open courts – will merely propel the hard-hitting duo.
    Osaka leads 2-1 head-to-head
    The first time they met was within the first spherical of the 2018 Miami Open. Williams was taking part in in solely her second match since returning to the tour after giving delivery to a child woman. Osaka received that tie 6-3, 6-2 towards a clearly rusty American.
    They met once more, six months later within the controversial US Open closing, which Osaka once more received in straight units.
    Williams pulled one again in Toronto in 2019, profitable 6-3, 6-4.
    Osaka unbeaten after reaching quarterfinals at majors
    So far, the 23-year-old Japanese participant has reached the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam thrice – on the 2018 US Open, 2019 Australian Open and 2020 US Open. She went on to win the title on every event.
    She’ll hope to proceed in that vein to earn her fourth title, however she has by no means confronted a Serena working at such a high-level.
    Williams chasing her twenty fourth
    For all her achievements and historic successes, Williams has now entered a fourth 12 months in her pursuit of Margaret Court’s all-time document of most Grand Slam singles titles.
    Williams overtook Steffi Graf’s Open Era document of twenty-two main wins when she received the 2017 Australian Open title – beating elder sister Venus within the closing.
    She went on maternity go away after that and returned to the tour over a 12 months later. Her starvation for the elusive twenty fourth Slam hasn’t diminished, and she or he’s been near attaining it 4 occasions.
    In 2018, she reached the Wimbledon and US Open finals, dropping to Angelique Kerber and Osaka respectively. A 12 months later, she reached the ultimate of the identical majors, dropping to Halep (Wimbledon) and Bianca Andreescu (US Open).
    Now she’s gunning for a fifth closing.

  • Australian Open Draw: Novak Djokovic, Sofia Kenin begin off with straightforward clashes

    Novak Djokovic will start his Australian Open title defence towards Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, whereas reigning girls’s champion Sofia Kenin meets wild card Maddison Inglis, following the draw for the yr’s first Grand Slam on Friday.
    World primary Djokovic captured a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park final yr by beating Dominic Thiem, who’s seeded third and can face Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin within the first spherical.
    Rafa Nadal, in search of a primary title on the main since 2009, will meet Serbia’s Laslo Djere in his opener.
    The Spaniard is stage with Roger Federer on 20 Grand Slam titles and seeking to overtake the Swiss champion, who shouldn’t be enjoying this yr following knee surgical procedure.

    Who is enjoying who? 👀 🔒
    Women’s singles draw 👉 https://t.co/EdvUSYrtlaMen’s singles draw 👉 https://t.co/LHaMY6YUNY#AusOpen #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/wcUZpGve36
    — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 5, 2021
    Top-ranked Ash Barty resumes her quest to change into the primary homegrown singles winner on the Australian Open since 1978 when the 24-year-old takes on Danka Kovinic.
    American Serena Williams, bidding to win a record-equalling twenty fourth main, will meet Laura Siegemund within the opening spherical.
    Naomi Osaka, the 2019 champion, has a collection of probably powerful matches beginning with a conflict towards former quarter-finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
    The Japanese participant may face Caroline Garcia and Ons Jabeur in her subsequent two rounds earlier than a possible match-up with both Garbine Muguruza or Angelique Kerber within the fourth spherical.
    Second seed Simona Halep of Romania, a overwhelmed finalist at Melbourne Park three years in the past, will play wild card Lizette Cabrera whereas fifth-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina faces Marie Bouzkova.
    ATP Finals champion Daniil Medvedev, who misplaced within the fourth spherical within the earlier two years, meets Canada’s Vasek Pospisil, whereas younger weapons Jannik Sinner and Denis Shapovalov are set to face off in what guarantees to be a blockbuster opener.
    Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has a tough check towards French veteran Gilles Simon whereas Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev have comparatively simpler first rounds towards Marcos Giron and Yannick Hanfmann, respectively.
    Iga Swiatek, who made her breakthrough final yr by successful the French Open title, takes on Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands whereas Venus Williams performs Kirsten Flipkens.

  • Ash Barty, Osaka advance in Australian Open tuneups in 3 units

    Ash Barty seemed just like the world No. 1 within the first set, then struggled the remainder of the best way towards No. 52-ranked Marie Bouzkova earlier than finishing a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win in an Australian Open tuneup match on Wednesday.
    In the third set, the 2019 French Open champion exchanged three service breaks early earlier than breaking Bouzkova within the eighth sport. She ended it with a service winner within the subsequent sport.
    “Coming off a night match, I’m an early riser to I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Barty mentioned.
    “I felt in the middle of the match I pressed a little bit … but I was happy to get the win on my terms at the end.”
    Barty will play American Shelby Rogers within the quarterfinals of the Yarra Valley Classic and will doubtlessly face Serena Williams within the semifinals. Williams was taking part in Tsvetana Pironkova in an evening match on Margaret Court Arena.
    U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka additionally superior, but additionally wanted three units after a sluggish begin on what may simply be known as Wild Wednesday at Melbourne Park.
    Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts throughout her match towards Britain’s Katie Boulter at a tuneup occasion forward of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
    There had been 89 matches scheduled on the Australian Open web site on the center day of a compressed week of six tournaments together with three WTA occasions and three for the boys’s tour, together with the ATP Cup. The match insanity was due to a 14-day quarantine interval for all Australian Open gamers on their arrival, forcing all warmup tournaments to be held within the week earlier than the Feb. 8-21 first Grand Slam of the yr.
    Osaka had a first-round bye and dropped solely 4 video games en path to her second-round win, so a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 371-ranked Katie Boulter was a change of tempo.
    She didn’t thoughts the additional work.
    “Honestly I like playing long matches, just because I can gauge the condition of the court and I feel my fitness gets better,” Osaka mentioned.
    “I played a shorter match yesterday, so maybe subconsciously I made myself play a long match today.”
    Also advancing had been third-seeded Elina Svitolina, who beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2, and seventh-seeded Elise Mertens, who beat No. 12-seeded Caroline Garcia 7-6 (1), 6-3.
    ITALY INTO ATP CUP SEMIS
    Italy is the primary workforce by way of to the ATP Cup semifinals after profitable the primary two singles matches towards France. Fabio Fognini had a 6-1, 7-6 (2) win over Benoit Paire earlier than Matteo Berrettini beat Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-2.
    Italy stays unbeaten and warranted of topping Group C within the 12-team occasion following its 2-1 win over Austria on Tuesday.
    In Wednesday’s different matches, Germany beat Canada 2-0 within the different early match. Jan-Lennard Struff beat Milos Raonic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) and Alexander Zverev held off Denis Shapovalov 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (4). Canada was coming off a gap loss to defending champion Serbia.