MELBOURNE – Naomi Osaka advanced Tuesday to a potential semifinal showdown against Serena Williams at the Australian Open.
Osaka earned her 19th victory in a row by overpowering Hsieh Su-wei 6-2, 6-2, and will next meet the winner of the quarterfinal match Tuesday night between Williams and No.
2-seeded Simona Halep. “Normally I never look at my draw,” Osaka said. “But everyone has told me about my draw here, so I kind of had no choice but to know who my next opponent is.
It’s definitely going to be really fun.” Seeded third, Osaka reached 122 mph (196 kph) on her serve against Hsieh. She hit seven aces, lost only two points on her first serve and was never broken.