Naomi Osaka continues her outstanding performance at the US Open, after defeating Karolina Muchova, number 11 in the ranking, with a score of 6-4 and 7-6 (3) this Wednesday night. With this victory, Osaka returns to the semifinals of the tournament in Flushing Meadows for the first time since she won the title five years ago. The tennis player, ranked 23rd, improves her record to 5-0 in Grand Slam quarterfinals, all on hard court. In addition, she maintains the streak of winning the title every time she reaches this stage in the last eight major tournaments.
The mentioned titles were at the US Open in 2018 and 2020, and at the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021. The most recent trophy at Melbourne Park was the last time Osaka reached the fourth round in a Grand Slam tournament, before this US Open. Osaka, who is competing in a major tournament for the first time since the birth of her daughter, Shai, in July 2023, has shown her best level since returning to the circuit after a 17-month maternity break. She defeated Coco Gauff, seeded number 3, with a score of 6-3 and 6-2 in the round of 16 and has only lost one set in the entire tournament. Osaka’s victory against Muchova is her sixth consecutive win against a rival within the WTA top 20, matching the longest streak of her career, achieved between 2019 and 2020. Muchova, runner-up at the 2023 French Open and a semi-finalist in New York in the last two years, played 145 games in this tournament, the most for a woman in the first five matches of a US Open in the Open era. She had needed three sets in each of the first four rounds. Osaka, 27, will face Amanda Anisimova, number 8 in the ranking, in the next round. Anisimova defeated Iga Swiatek, number 2, on Wednesday, less than two months after losing to the six-time Grand Slam champion in the Wimbledon final.“It means a lot. I’m surprised I’m not crying,” Osaka stated in the post-match interview. “It’s been a lot of hard work that you guys haven’t seen, I’m grateful to my team and happy to be healthy.”
Naomi Osaka
