Record chasing Serena Williams will rekindle her rivalry with her 2018 U.S open nemesis Naomi Osaka in the semifinal of the 2021 Australian open. Serena made light work of her quarter-final opponent, two time grand slam winner, Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3 while Naomi breezed past Su- Wei Hsieh 6-2, 6-2.
39 -year old Serena raced to a four-two lead in the first set after breaking halep’s serve in the fifth game and held serve thereafter. Serena’s firepower was too much for halep to handle as the American broke again in the seventh game and rounded off the set in the ninth game.
The second set was similar to the first but this time the Romanian second seed took the lead at two love. Serena rallied back to level scores in the sixth game of the set and never looked back.
The meeting with Osaka will relive the 2018 us open final which was overshadowed by the drama between Serena and the chair umpire. Who had accused the American of cheating by receiving instructions from her coach, an allegation she angrily denied and called the official a thief.
Naomi defeated Serena in that final 6-2, 6-4 to win her first grand slam, becoming the first Japanese woman to achieve that feat.
