Naomi Osaka secured a place in the Australian Open Final by defeating American tennis legend Serena Williams. In a thrilling two-set win, the Japanese managed to dominate the game with her serve and her backhand and forced Williams to commit many errors. At the beginning of the second set, Serena had chances to return to the match. She was leading 2-0 and up a break, however, Osaka scrambled back, showed grit and determination, and in the end, came out as a winner.
What the loss means for Serena ?
In the moments, after the final Serena Williams was seen leaving the Rod Laver Arena in a very emotional state. As fans were cheering her on, the American put her hand over her heart and started slightly bowing to the crowd. This made a lot of tennis fanatics wonder whether Serena was saying goodbye to the Australian Open.
At the press conference after the match, Serena sounded very emotionally distraught. When she was asked about this final on-court moment and whether it was her way of saying farewell, the American responded: “I don’t know. If I ever say farewell, I wouldn’t tell anyone.” Moments later, her meeting with the press was cut short, as Williams started to cry on the next question and left the room, saying; “I don’t know, I’m done.”
This loss was for sure an extremely emotional moment for Serena, who probably didn’t expect to lose so quickly, seeing as she was playing on a very high level throughout the tournament.
After the match, Serena went on Instagram and posted the above picture saying: “Melbourne and my Australian fans- Today was not ideal outcome or performance but it happens… I am so honored to be able to play in front of you all. Your support -your cheers, I only wish I could have done better for you today. I am forever in debt and grateful to each and everyone single one of you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I adore you.”
The future is bright for Naomi Osaka
On the other hand, Naomi was being herself in the moments after the match. In the press conference she said: “I was a little kid watching Serena play and just to be on the court playing against her, for me, is a dream.”
The 23-year old might turn out to be the first-ever hard-court specialist. In her career so far, she has won every hard-court Grand Slam tournament. However, she has failed to even get to a semi-final in Wimbledon and Roland Garros. If she wins on Saturday, she will have two titles from both the Australian Open and the US Open. She will play another American in the final – Jennifer Brady, who got to the match for the trophy after a 2-1 set victory over Karolina Muhova.
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