Serena Williams fell short of her quest to capture the grand slam title that would have matched Margaret Court’s record, as she was defeated by Naomi Osaka in straight sets during the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Williams entered the match on the back of a solid 6-3, 6-3 win over Simona Halep, the world number two in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings. Osaka also displayed an impressive performance in the quarter-finals, beating Su-Wei Hsieh ranked at number 71.
It was Osaka who continued her winning streak with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the former top-ranked player. Williams and Osaka, both former world number ones, have experienced fluctuations in their rankings, with the 39-year-old Williams currently in 11th place and the 23-year-old Osaka ranking third.
Following the match, Williams admitted, “The difference today was errors. It was a tough day for me in terms of errors,” before leaving the press conference in tears as she was unable to explain her subpar performance.
Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, the current world number one, was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Karolina Muchova. The final will see Osaka facing Jennifer Brady on Saturday.
