Serena powers past No. 1-bound Osaka in Toronto
Serena Williams registered 6-3, 6-4 win over Naomi Osaka to reach Toronto semi-finals.
TORONTO (AFP) - Serena Williams won the rematch, dominating Naomi Osaka 6-3, 6-4 on Friday to ensure the Japanese star won t leave Toronto with a title to go with her number one world ranking.
Williams fired 12 aces and didn t face a break point as she beat Osaka for the first time in three meetings -- avenging her shock loss in last year s controversial US Open final in which the American star was docked a point and a game after losing her temper when warned about coaching.
There was no such drama in Toronto, where Williams broke Osaka for a 5-3 lead in the first and closed out the opening set with a service winner.
She broke again for a 2-1 lead in the second and never looked like surrendering the advantage.
Her lone wobble came in the final game. After a pair of aces gave her a triple match point, Williams offered up a double fault and two backhands into the net before she closed it out with an ace on her fourth match point.
"We haven t played since New York, which was a really good match for her," said Williams, adding that she feels her own game is coming on as she d hoped in the buildup to this year s US Open at Flushing Meadows.
"I m getting there," said Williams, who hasn t dropped a set this week as she pursues a fourth Toronto title to go with those she won in 2001, 2011 and 2013. "It s definitely not where I want to be, but I m getting there."
In the semi-finals Williams will face either fourth-seeded defending champion Simona Halep -- who beat her in the Wimbledon final in July -- or Czech qualifier Marie Bouzkova.
Despite the defeat, Osaka is assured of a return to world number one next week after the second-round exit of top-ranked Australian Ashleigh Barty and a quarter-final defeat for third-ranked Czech Karolina Pliskova.
Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu ousted Pliskova 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 after one hour and 49 minutes to doom the Czech s bid to regain the top spot for the first time since 2017.
Andreescu advanced to a semi-final clash with American Sofia Kenin, who defeated Ukraine sixth seed Elina Svitolina 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.
Andreescu shot to prominence with a victory at Indian Wells in March, but she had been sidelined by a shoulder injury since the French Open in May.
"In the third set I told myself, Go big or go home, " the home hope said. "Literally go home. My home is like two minutes from here. I just went out there and I never gave up because it s not over until it s over."
