Japan’s Naomi Osaka brutally halted Serena Williams’s latest bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title

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Melbourne, Feb 18 (AFP/APP): Japan’s Naomi Osaka brutally halted Serena Williams’s latest bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title on Thursday, as Novak Djokovic wrote the final chapter of qualifier Aslan Karatsev’s fairy-tale run.

Fans returned after a five-day coronavirus lockdown in time to see an emotional exit from Williams, Jennifer Brady’s win over Karolina Muchova and top-ranked Djokovic preserving his perfect semi-final record at Karatsev’s expense. Triple major-winner Osaka, 23, again proved Williams’s nemesis with a one-sided 6-3, 6-4 win which heightened questions about whether the American, 39, will ever match Margaret Court’s all-time record for Slam singles titles.

Williams put her hand on her heart as she acknowledged a standing ovation on Rod Laver Arena, and later walked out of her post-match press conference in tears, saying: “I’m done.” The American has lost four Grand Slam finals since winning her 23rd in Melbourne in 2017, and victory over Osaka would have given her a golden opportunity against Brady, who is into her first major decider. But after going 0-2 down in the first set, Osaka reeled off five straight games to take charge against a despairing Williams and canter into the final.

The soft-spoken Osaka has never lost a Grand Slam match after reaching the quarter-finals, and Brady can expect the match of her life on Saturday. “For me, 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,” Osaka said.

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