New York: Naomi Osaka enjoyed a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 win over Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko at the US Open on Wednesday to become the first Japanese woman in 22 years to reach the semi-final stage of a Grand Slam.
The 20th-seeded Osaka, a rising talent who won her first career title in March at Indian Wells, used a lethal ground game and solid serving to overwhelm a fatigued Tsurenko, who laboured in stifling conditions on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Osaka, the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Kimiko Date at Wimbledon in 1996, broke Tsurenko five times during a match that lasted 57 minutes.
Tsurenko, the only unseeded woman to reach this stage of the tournament, appeared to be feeling the effects of her last-16 clash during which she struggled in the searing heat and at one point looked like she was about to collapse.
Tsurenko, who stunned Danish second seed Caroline Wozniacki in the second round, is still projected to rise 10 spots to a career-high 26th in the world rankings.
On Tuesday, Serena Williams powered her way to within two victories of a seventh US Open title, defeating Czech eighth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter final.
While she refused to look ahead, there are many willing to do it for her, and what they see is a suddenly open path to a 24th Grand Slam.
"I'd been a couple steps away at the last Grand Slam, so I'm definitely not ahead of myself," said Serena, the memory of a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final still fresh. "I still know that no matter whether I'm in the semi-finals or the finals, I have a really long way to go to win that.
"Again, that proved to be true at Wimbledon."
Serena has done her part, making her way to the last four with her usual efficiency while throwing in an occasional wobble just to keep things interesting but not scary.
But Serena has also received help along the way with others bulldozing the route to Saturday's final clear of some major roadblocks.
When the 36-year-old American first looked at the draw, she would have instantly picked out world No. 1 Simona Halep as a potential troublespot, but even before Serena had hit her first ball, the Romanian was gone, a victim of a first-round upset, eliminating a tricky fourth round encounter with the French Open champion.
Spain's double Grand Slam winner Garbine Murgurza was next to go, making a second round exit, and then earlier on Tuesday Serena side-stepped a semi-final showdown with third seed Sloane Stephens when the defending champion was sent packing by Anastasija Sevastova.
The 18th seeded Latvian is now the only hurdle standing between Serena and a place in Saturday's final where the other side of the draw has also been cleared of potential trouble with 14th seeded American Madison Keys the highest ranked threat remaining.
Serena's quarter-final win over Pliskova on Tuesday was her first over a top 10 ranked opponent since returning to the WTA Tour in March following the birth of her first child.
"That's a really big step for me. Shocking, my first top-10 win," said Serena. "I'm here to do my best. I don't think I have another 10 years of having opportunities to be able to play and win championships.
"Every match really means a lot to me. I kind of go out there and I just do the best that I can."
Pliskova, who managed to convert just two of 12 break point chances in the contest, said Serena was simply too good in the important moments. "She hit all first serves on the break points, which is always a little bit tougher to return," Pliskova said. "The second set, she was just mixing the serve. She was going a lot of wide. Not much that I could do on the break points."
With a win, Seerena would break out of a tie with Chris Evert for most US Open titles, and equal Margaret Court's all-time record for Grand Slams.
