Fourth seed Naomi Osaka won a semi-final she once vowed not to play, defeating Belgium’s Elise Mertens on Friday to reach the ATP and WTA Western & Southern Open final.
Osaka saved 18 of 21 break points in her 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) victory, advancing to the championship match, which was to start shortly after press time last night, against two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka in New York.
“My service game was tougher than normal. I’m glad I was able to save 18 of them,” Osaka said. “Preparing for this match was a bit stressful, but I’m glad I was able to close it out.”
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Two-time Grand Slam champion Osaka on Wednesday said that she would not play the semi-finals to protest the police shooting on Sunday last week of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Osaka said she was “sick to her stomach” and “exhausted” by repeated violence against black people by US police.
“I honestly didn’t even think it would be that big of a deal,” Osaka said on Friday. “I always thought it would be nice if someone started in tennis. I’m more of a follower. I was waiting and waiting and then I realized I was the one who was going to have to take the first step.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I just wanted to create awareness in the tennis bubble. I think I did my job, I guess,” she said.
Osaka’s decision prompted the WTA and ATP to postpone all semi-final matches to Friday, which inspired Osaka to change her mind and play, although she was worried that other delayed players would be upset.
“I don’t want them to blame me for the one-day break because their schedule got messed up,” she said. “I was scared, but they were really nice.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Osaka said her big personal gains from the move were “confidence and really becoming more aware of the impact my voice could have.”
Mertens was supportive of Osaka and unfazed by the off-again, on-again status of the match.
“I totally get her reason 100 percent, so I’m totally supporting her too,” Mertens said.
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Osaka, the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open champion, broke for a 2-0 lead and again in the eighth game to take the first set in 38 minutes.
The 22-year-old Japanese star broke for a 2-0 lead in set two before Mertens rolled through the next four games.
Osaka broke back in the seventh game and, after battling into the tie-breaker, won when Mertens hit a backhand wide.
Azarenka defeated eighth seed Johanna Konta 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the other women’s semi-final at the US Open tuneup, which is typically played in Cincinnati, but was moved in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the men’s side, Milos Raonic eliminated fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to reach an ATP final against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who overcame Roberto Bautista Agut 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/0).
Raonic commended Osaka’s move, saying, “It’s a human right not to have that fear. I hope there is a change in the future and that we as athletes can be a small part of that.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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