Naomi Osaka becomes first Japanese woman to reach US Open semis in 22 years

US Open: Naomi Osaka thrashed Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in the quarter-final on Wednesday to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.

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Naomi Osaka becomes first Japanese woman to reach US Open semis in 22 years
US Open: Naomi Osaka wrapped up the quarter-final vs Lesia Tsurenko in just 57 minutes. (Reuters Photo)

In Short

  • Naomi Osaka crushed Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in US Open quarters
  • Osaka reached her first Grand Slam semi-final
  • Osaka became the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam semis in 22 years

Naomi Osaka steamrolled past Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in the US Open quarter-final on Wednesday to enter her first Grand Slam semi-final at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

It was a very comfortable afternoon for Osaka who became the first Japanese woman in 22 years to reach a Grand Slam semi-final. The 20th-seeded Osaka, who won her first career title only in March this year at Indian Wells, had reached the fourth round of Australian Open earlier this year, which was her highest showing at a Grand Slam till Wednesday.

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The last time a Japanese woman had reached a Grand Slam semi-final was Kimiko Date at Wimbledon in 1996.

Osaka's lethal ground strokes and solid serving was too much for Tsurenko and in the stifling conditions at Flushing Meadows, which even left Roger Federer gasping for break, the Ukrainian just could not match Osaka.

Such was Osaka's dominance in the afternoon that she broke Tsurenko five times and the quarter-final lasted for a meagre 57 minutes.

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The 20-year-old Osaka, who has looked comfortable on one of the sport's biggest stages, was tearful after her fourth-round clash but much less emotional after her latest win.

"The other time I cried a little bit and there was a lot of people making fun of me," Osaka said during her on-court interview. "I was freaking out inside, just like my whole body was shaking, so I'm really glad I was able to play well."

Osaka's first serve percentage was only 59 percent but she did not concede a point behind her first serve the entire first set and only surrendered seven points on serve over the match.

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.

"Unfortunately during this tournament I had many issues with my health, and today was not my day obviously. I was not feeling well," Tsurenko told reporters.

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"I just woke up today with a viral illness or whatever it is ... I don't know what happened, but my throat is not well. I'm not breathing well."

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The Ukrainian had a small window to grab momentum but failed to cash in on her three break-point opportunities while trailing 4-1 in the second set and Osaka fought back before cruising through the final game.

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.

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Up next up for Osaka will be the winner of the evening match between 2017 runner-up Madison Keys, who at 14 is the highest seed left in the women's draw, and Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro.

The speedy win over Tsurenko was the third time Osaka has wrapped up victory in under an hour in New York and should allow her to be fresh for Thursday's semi-final.

(With Reuters inputs)