Serena Williams vs. Naomi Osaka Australian Open Semi-Finals

Wednesday’s marquee meeting marks the fourth time the two stars will meet. Williams’ lone win coming at Canada’s Rogers Cup in 2019. Osaka’s wins were at the 2018 Miami Open and the 2018 U.S. Open.

That Grand Slam meeting saw Osaka, who is 16 years Williams’ junior, win her first title.

Her win, however, was marred by a verbal altercation between Williams and the chair umpire during the match that saw her get three on-court violations and Osaka in tears at the end as books rained down on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I know that everybody was cheering for her,” she said. “I’m sorry it had to end like this. I just want to say thank you for watching the match.”

According to Williams, the pair have put the Open behind them.

“I think we both have had closure, and we have reached out to each other,” said Williams after her quarterfinal match at Melbourne Park. “I have definitely reached out. “I think she’s a great competitor and she’s a cool cat.”

Serena Williams is inching closer to history. The American needs two wins at the 2021 Australian Open to record her 24th career Grand Slam title and tie Margaret Court atop the list. The only issue: she’ll face Naomi Osaka in the semifinals.

Osaka, the No. 3 seed, advanced to the semis with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 win over Su-Wei Hsieh (who upset Canada’s Bianca Andreescu in the second round).

The 23-year-old’s only tough match of the draw was the fourth round where she faced two match points before beating Garbine Muguruza. She’ll be looking to add to her collection of hardware that includes two U.S. Open (2018, 2020) and one Australian Open (2019) trophies.