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Photo credit: Andy Cheung / Getty Images
The stakes were high as Naomi Osaka beat Serena Williams in the Australian Open semifinals, preventing Williams from winning the 24th Grand Slam title, a record she has pursued for years. “I was a little girl watching her play, and being on the pitch playing against her, for me, is a dream,” said Osaka, 23. mentionned de Williams after the match, which she won in straight sets. The latter two met in a Grand Slam tournament in the 2018 US Open final, when Osaka claimed their first Grand Slam victory. “Of course, every time I play it I feel like it’s something that I will definitely remember a lot,” Osaka added during his post-match press conference. “For me, I want her to play forever. Now, that’s the little child in me. Osaka will face Jennifer Brady in the final, chasing her fourth Grand Slam title – and maybe by then she’ll have her biggest cheerleader, rapper boyfriend Cordae, back in the stands.
Williams, meanwhile, received a standing ovation from the Melbourne crowd, who cheered her on for a third set. As fans and reporters speculated about her retirement, the 39-year-old dismissed questions about it in an emotional press conference. “I don’t know,” she said, asking if this outing was a goodbye. “If I ever say goodbye, I won’t tell anyone. She then looked like she was tearing up on the next question and left the press conference earlier.
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