THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 16, 2021 at 12:20 JST
Naomi Osaka hits a backhand return to Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on Feb. 16. (AP Photo)
MELBOURNE, Australia--Three-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has advanced to a potential semifinal showdown against Serena Williams at the Australian Open by overpowering Hsieh Su-wei 6-2, 6-2.
Osaka will meet the winner of Tuesday night’s quarterfinal match between Williams and No. 2-seeded Simona Halep. Williams is three wins away from a record-tying 24th major title.
Against Hsieh, Osaka hit seven aces, lost only two points on her first serve and was never broken.
Osaka has won 19 consecutive matches, a streak that includes a U.S. Open title in September. The streak also includes Osaka’s fourth-round win last week, when she saved two match points and swept the final four games to overtake Garbiñe Muguruza.
The 35-year-old Hsieh is the oldest woman to make her Grand Slam quarterfinal debut.
Serena Williams, who is three wins away from a record-tying 24th major title, plays No. 2-seeded Simona Halep in the other women’s match Tuesday.
On the men’s side, eight-time Australian champion Novak Djokovic plays Alexander Zverev, and Grigor Dimitrov takes on 114th-ranked qualifier Aslan Karatsev.
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