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When Shuzo Matsuoka and Kimiko Date reached the men's and women's quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 1995, it was a stroke of luck – at least in the eyes of one of them.
On Wednesday night, in the players' garden adjacent to Arthur Ashe Stadium, Matsuoka reflected on his accomplishments decades ago, in light of the important events that had taken place next to him.
Kei Nishikori, a 12-year-old who was coached by Matsuoka in Japan, and Naomi Osaka both won their quarterfinals to become the first Japanese duo to reach the semi-finals of the same Grand Slam tournament.
Nishikori and Osaka were already the first two Japanese to reach the quarter-finals of the same event since Matsuoka and Date made it 23 years ago.
"But there is a big difference," said Matsuoka. "I was very lucky to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. But these two can do great things. They can actually win the Grand Slams.
Osaka and Nishikori have reached a milestone with two impressive victories. Osaka, an endearing 20-year-old born in Japan but raised in the United States, defeated Ukraine 6-1, 6-1, Lesia Tsurenko in just 57 minutes to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal. Osaka, 20th, will face No. 14 Madison Keys, who beat Carla Suárez Navarro, 6-4, 6-3, in the quarter-final on Wednesday.
Nishikori, the men's No. 21 seed, took four times more time in his match on the same pitch, but overcame a tough first leg to defeat Croatian number 7 Marin Cilic, 2-6, 6-4 , 7. -6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, in a rematch of their 2014 final here. He will meet the winner of the quarter-finals between No. 7 Novak Djokovic and John Millman, the un-ranked Australian who beat number two Roger Federer in the fourth round.
According to Matsuoka, who is commenting on a Japanese TV channel at the Open, the two semi-finals will spark a keen interest in Japan, a nation more recognized for producing baseball, football and sumo stars than for tennis champions. .
Nishikori, 28, reached the US final in 2014 and the semifinal in 2016. He noted the growing interest of Japanese fans and journalists to see two of their compatriots at the heart of a major event.
"I saw a lot of Japanese coming for the tournament," Nishikori said. "It's good to have support outside of Japan. This is good news, we are both in the semifinals. "
Along with breakthroughs on the court, both also made a breakthrough in their relationship. Both players train in Florida, although on different shores, but both are generally shy, and Osaka said that she had finally known Nishikori personally at this tournament. They were both at a late dinner in Rome in May, but Osaka said she was tired and incommunicative this time around.
Here, she surprised Nishikori when she started talking with him in the field, mostly on typical young adult topics, such as video games.
"I just think he is, like a very big child," Osaka said. "As I do not know how to describe it. He also plays games and other things. I think we are pretty similar in that sense. Overall, he is really kind and positive, bubbly and everything.
Nishikori had a similar impression of Osaka.
"Well, she looks mature and looks older," he said. "But when we speak, she is also a child."
But the child has had a year of experience, underlining Matsuoka's belief that she and Nishikori can win a Grand Slam. Osaka won in Indian Wells, California, for her first WTA tour championship, beating # 1 Simona Halep. At the next tournament in Miami, she showed courage by defeating her idol, Serena Williams.
Until this US Open, Osaka's best performance at a Grand Slam tournament reached the fourth round of the Australian Open this year.
But as she has progressed steadily, especially this year under the tutelage of Sascha Bajin, former Williams coach, Osaka has added an emotional and tactical awareness to her already impressive power play. As his results improved, his stature in Japan also improved.
"Naomi is coming, and the good thing is that she has a good character, a very cute character," said Matsuoka. "She's very, very funny and in Japan everyone starts to like it. They did not know Naomi, how she is inside. Now they know it.
Born in Japan of a Japanese mother of Hokkaido and a Haitian-American father, Osaka moved to Long Island with his family at the age of three, then five years later she moved to Florida to train more seriously. She has dual Japanese and American citizenship, but she chose to represent Japan after being neglected by the United States Tennis Association as a young junior developing.
She knew only rudimentary Japanese, but in recent years she began to study the language. She can now understand the questions she is asked in Japanese (she answers in English to avoid mistakes) of the growing number of Japanese journalists who follow her around the world.
"I'm really grateful to have a lot of Japanese press," Osaka said. "I think it's because of Kei. I'm really happy about that. I just hope that I can continue to do well. I hope that they continue to encourage me.
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