In what will be one the most-watched matches of the competition, Japan’s Naomi Osaka will take on the 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams in the semifinal of the 2021 Australian Open on Thursday, February 18, with the match likely to begin at around 11 am local time (12 noon BST or 7 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Naomi Osaka v Serena Williams match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Naomi Osaka v Serena Williams Head to Head
There have been three matches played between these two players before this and Osaka leads 2-1.
The first two of those matches came in 2018 and Osaka won both including once at the US Open final in what was an ill-contested match. Serena pulled one back in 2019 when she defeated her opponent at the Toronto Open in straight sets.
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The Osaka March Continues
Osaka’s exquisite form had seen a chance of being abated by the Garbine Muguruza brilliance in the fourth round but once she had passed the Spaniard’s test, normal service returned in her next round. Playing Su-wei Hsieh in her quarterfinal, the three-time Grand Slam winner needed just an hour and eight minutes to get past her opponent and seal her place in the semifinals.
The match was a breeze for Osaka, who broke Hsieh four times in the encounter and saved all of the three break-points she herself faced. And in both the sets, the Japanese number one was able to exert enough pressure on the Hsieh serve as she looked to stay in the set – breaking her both times.
In the end, a 6-2, 6-2 win was a just result for the world number three, who is looking to add a fourth Grand Slam title to her tally and second here in Melbourne.
Osaka’s previous results in this tournament have included straight-set victories over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Caroline Garcia and Ons Jabeur before squeaking past Muguruza where she saved two match-points. Question is whether she can up her game against a tennis great?
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Serena Wallops Halep
Serena has had an excellent record against Simona Halep but was coming into the match having lost their last encounter at the 2019 Wimbledon which the Romanian had gone on to win. The Serena of this tournament, however, has been a different one however.
In a match that lasted an hour and 23 minutes, Serena romped past Halep in straight sets winning 6-3, 6-3, having faced only some trouble in the second set.
Williams was away to a flier with an early break of serve and a 2-0 lead and while Halep broke right back, the American got her advantage back in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead before closing out the set soon after.
Things looked to be headed in the other direction in the second set when it was Halep who got herself the first break of serve, then dropped her own serve before getting another break to go 3-1 up. That was the last game Serena lost though, winning the next five games in a row demolishing the Halep serve with three breaks of serve.
Serena’s defensive has been continuously praised all tournament and her improved court movement could go a long way in helping her go on to win this one too.
Osaka v Serena Prediction and Tip
There isn’t much surprise to see Osaka start out a favourite at 4/7 but Serena’s form demands a look at 11/8 and there is a good chance we see a long-drawn battle which goes into the final set.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 6/4 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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