Australian Open: Serena Williams in tears after loss to Naomi Osaka
What happened in the build-up to Serena Williams making a tearful exit from her post-match press conference? This is how it played out.
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Serena Williams has walked out of her post-match media conference in tears after struggling to explain her semi-final loss to Naomi Osaka.
The 23-time grand slam champion cut short the conference when she was overcome with emotion saying: “I don’t know, I’m done.”
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Williams, 39, had kept herself composed for the opening couple of minutes and seemed to be handling questions about the 6-3 6-4 loss.
She had been asked whether this would be the last time she would be at Melbourne Park given she’d lingered on Rod Laver Arena afterwards to acknowledge the crowd.
“If I was saying farewell, I wouldn’t tell anyone,” she said.
Williams was frustrated with her inability to take opportunities early in the match after breaking Osaka’s serve in the opening game.
“I made so many errors, I had so many opportunities that I could have been 5-0,” she said. “It was a big error day today.”
The emotion overwhelmed her when she was asked if she had a reason for the errors or if it was just a “bad day at the office”.
That tipped the eight-time Australian Open champion over the edge and she put her hand to her eyes, grabbed her pass and walked out.
Williams, who hasn’t won a major in four years, remains one short of Margaret Court’s grand slam record.
SERENA’S POST-MATCH WALK OUT
QUESTION: There was a really poignant moment when you walked off the court. You put your hand over your heart. What was going through your head in that moment?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t know. The Aussie crowd is so amazing, so it was nice to see.
Q: Some people wondered if you were almost saying farewell.
SW: I don’t know. If I ever say farewell,I wouldn’t tell anyone (smiling). So
Q: The unforced errors through the match,considering how well up you played to get to this stage, what do you feel caused that? Was it just one of those bad days at the office?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t know. I’m done (tearing up).
WHAT MOTIVATES NAOMI OSAKA?
A craving for recognition on the biggest stage is what drives Naomi Osaka ahead of Saturday’s Australian Open women’s final.
The Japanese superstar is a short-priced favourite to claim her second crown at Melbourne Park after a semi-final demolition of her idol Serena Williams.
Osaka will play 22nd seed American Jennifer Brady in a repeat of last year’s US Open semi-final.
The way the No.3 seed destroyed Williams – 6-3 6-4 – has her confidence riding high given she has a 100 per cent record from three grand slam final appearances.
“For me, I have this mentality that people don’t remember the runners up,” Osaka said. “ You might, but the winner’s name is the one that’s engraved. I think I fight the hardest in the finals. I think that’s where you sort of set yourself apart.
“The other person has won as many matches as you did but it’s something that I think … I don’t know, it’s like the biggest fight.”
Osaka defeated Williams to win her first grand slam at the 2018 US Open and then captured the Australian crown in 2019 before losing her way under the pressure of being world No.1
But she emerged from the coronavirus pandemic lockdown with a new focus which was rewarded with victory at last year’s US Open.
“When I was younger, I guess like two years ago or something, I felt like my goal was to make history, to like somehow at least have one thing that I was able to do,” she said.
“I would say I wanted to be the first Japanese person to win a slam. I think that was my goal.
“Then there were more things to do. So for me right now, of course it’s nice to see your name on a trophy or your name on a wall.
“But I think bigger than that, I feel like I’m playing with a different purpose for this trip.
“I think I’m just so happy with my team and we’ve been through this entire quarantine and we’ve been stuck together.
“I don’t know, every day is really fun with them. I just want to do really well as a vessel for everyone’s hard work.”
Osaka admitted she was overawed by Williams at the start of the semi-final where she could barely throw the ball up to serve.
She lost her first service game and appeared in trouble at 1-2 before launching a stunning attack winning seven of the next eight games to flip the match on its head.
“I was definitely really nervous. It’s very intimidating to serve for the first game and see her on the other side of the net,” Osaka said.
“For me, I felt like I just started making way too many unforced errors because I was worried about what she would do if I were to hit a soft ball.
“Because I’ve grown up watching what she does to people’s serves when they’re soft, I guess. I think that’s also why my serve percentage was bad today.”
Osaka, who had pictures of Williams on her bedroom wall, said she hoped the 23-time grand slam champion kept playing.
“I want her to play forever,” she said. “That’s the little kid in me.”
OSAKA TOO GOOD FOR LEGEND
Serena Williams’ grand slam record bid has again been put on hold after she was brutally dispatched by a Naomi Osaka masterclass.
The Japanese superstar was in no mood for sentiment, inflicting her idol’s first Australian Open semi-final loss 6-3 6-4 in just 75 minutes.
Williams, who was 8-0 in semi-finals on Rod Laver Arena, was blown off the court by an Osaka tornado which burst into action from nowhere after an inglorious beginning to the match.
The three-time major champion could barely get her ball toss right as nerves strangled her with Williams easily breaking her service in the opening game.
Osaka was then down a breakpoint on her next service game before finding a way to hold for 2-1.
No-one saw what was about to happen, in particular Williams who seemed in complete control.
But Osaka flicked a switch and won six of the next seven games to take over the match and leave everyone inside Rod Laver Arena in shock.
She seemed to be cruising towards victory until again nerves struck on her service late in the second set with Williams getting a crucial break back at 4-4.
So how did Osaka respond?
She broke Williams service to love with yet another brilliant backhand passing shot getting her back the advantage which she didn’t relinquish again.
It was almost like the 39-year-old Williams was playing a younger version of herself.
Osaka, 23, grew up with posters of the great American on her bedroom wall but she is no longer intimidated and now has a 3-1 head-to-head record.
With Ash Barty making a shock exit on Wednesday all the love in the stadium – which was half full after the lifting of Victorian Government restrictions – was for Williams.
Her quest to be the greatest of all time in terms of major titles has captivated the tennis world in recent times but the loss sees her remain at 23, one behind Australia’s Margaret Court.
Osaka defeated Williams to win her first grand slam at the 2018 US Open. She then followed that up with victory at Melbourne Park in 2019, defeating Petra Kivitova in the final.
But the pressure of being the next big thing in tennis impacted on Osaka who lost her way for the rest of 2019 and then lost in the third round at last year’s Australian Open.
She regained her mojo at the 2020 US Open defeating Victoria Azarenka in the final.
BRADY THROUGH TO SLAM FINAL
Joe Barton
There was no medical time-out to save Karolina Muchova this time.
A day after she toppled local hope Ash Barty with a match-changing physio break, Muchova’s Australian Open came to an end in a thrilling semi-final at the hands of American warrior Jennifer Brady in a fluctuating three-set contest.
The 22nd seed had two cracks at celebrating the win, the first time prematurely when she fell to her knees on her second match point, only to see on the big screen her shot had sailed 7mm long.
Pushed to the limit in the third set by a fearless Muchova, who saved four match points in a stunning 13-minute final game, Brady was finally able to celebrate when she sealed the deal on her fifth chance.
“I can’t feel my legs. My legs are shaking, my heart is racing,” Brady said after the win.
As she did against Barty, before taking a pivotal ten-minute delay, Muchova dropped the first set.
But on Thursday, in warmer conditions than those experienced the day before, she staged a gutsy comeback to force the match into a gripping deciding set.
From the end of the first set, the Czech’s power game came to the fore, but Brady’s superior serve proved the difference.
In the third set it was Muchova who blinked first, broken in the third game as Brady defied the quarantine curse to surge into Saturday’s final, where she’ll face Naomi Osaka after the third seed crushed Serena Williams in straight sets.
Brady is the last remaining player – in either draw – who endured the strict two-week lockdown upon arrival in Australia.
In lockdown, Brady and coach Michael Geserer had only one rule: no complaints, no excuses.
While some whinged, and almost all fell by the wayside early in the tournament, Brady quietly marched towards a maiden grand slam final.
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