Naomi Osaka has just defeated Serena Williams to deny her a shot at record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title at the 2021 Australian Open.
The Japanese tennis star, 23, defeated her American opponent, 39, 6-3, 6-4 in the Australian Open semifinals at Rod Laver Arena on Thursday morning, February 18.
Osaka, who also beat Williams in the 2018 US Open final, has now reached her fourth major title match and stretched her winning streak to 20 matches by claiming the last eight points.
"I don't know if there's any little kids out here today, but I was a little kid watching her play," Osaka, 23, said about Williams, 39, "and just to be on the court playing against her, for me, is a dream."
No. 3-seed Osaka will face either No. 25 seed Karolina Muchova or 22nd-seeded American Je...