Naomi Osaka made her first Grand Slam semifinal as a mother after beating No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova 6-4 7-6 (3) in the US Open quarterfinal.
Right out of the gate, Osaka faced a break point but successfully saved it. Then, in the 10th game, the 2018 and 2020 US Open champion opened 0/40 on Muchova's serve - and converted her second set point to claim the opener.
After losing the first set, Muchova bounced back with an early second-set break. Disappointingly for the Czech, she blew that break, as well as failed to serve out for the second set when leading 5-4. After forcing a tie-break, Osaka won three points in a row to open a 4-1 lead before realizing her second match point to get the job done in two sets.
Throughout the entire match, the Japanese tennis star went for her shots and finished with five aces and 30 winners. Next up for the former world No. 1 will be Amanda Anisimova, who upset Iga Swiatek.
Osaka reacts to making her first Grand Slam semifinal as a mom
The four-time Grand Slam winner, who welcomed her daughter Shai in the summer of 2023, returned to pro tennis at the start of the 2024 season.
Im really inspired by all the moms on tour. But I also have this feeling like Im not doing good enough or that Im being left behind. And I think when all the moms came back and they did well off the bat, I sort of felt like something was wrong with me. I know that Belinda [Bencic] made the semis of Wimbledon, so I just really felt like I was losing a race in some sort of weird way. So yeah, that was on my mind, but now Im here and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders," 27-year-old Osaka admitted.
