For Naomi Osaka, the tournament buzz at the Australian Open spoiled the surprise: She might face Serena Williams next.
Osaka overpowered Hsieh Su-wei 6-2, 6-2 Tuesday to reach the semi-finals, and will meet the winner of the quarter-final match between Williams and No. 2-seeded Simona Halep.
“Normally I never look at my draw,” Osaka said. “But everyone has told me about my draw here, so I kind of had no choice but to know who my next opponent is. It’s definitely going to be really fun.”
Seeded third, Osaka reached 196 km/h 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 consecutive victory.
Osaka also played excellent defence, such as in the final game, when she raced forward to chase down a drop shot, flicking a backhand cross-court for 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 35, Hsieh was the oldest woman to make her Grand Slam quarter-final debut in the professional era. But Osaka wasn’t fazed by Hsieh’s flat, deceptive two-handed strokes from both sides, pounding forehand winners into both corners.
Hsieh said Osaka is a threat to win the championship.
“She always can go all the way,” Hsieh said. “She just needs to play her game and stay calm. She’s a great player.”
Osaka’s winning streak includes a U.S. Open title in September for her third Grand Slam championship. The streak also includes her fourth-round win last week, when she saved two match points and swept the final four games to overtake Garbine Muguruza.
“It makes me a bit more calm, knowing that my back was severely against the wall,” Osaka said.
Osaka is 4-0 in Grand Slam quarter-finals, including a victory en route to the Australian Open title in 2019. Against Williams her record is 2-1, 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 court.”
Aslan Karatsev continued his sensational run at the Australian Open into the semi-finals on Tuesday when he stunned Grigor Dimitrov 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 to become the fifth qualifier to reach the final four of a men’s Grand Slam in the open era.
Eight-time champion Novak Djokovic was also slated to face Alexander Zverev in another quarter-final match.