Naomi Osaka has trounced Lesia Tsurenko at the US Open to become the first Japanese woman since 1996 to advance to the semi-finals of a grand slam.
The 20th seed continued what’s been a largely dominant run through the draw by winning in just 57 minutes, the third time in her five matches she didn’t even have to play an hour.
Osaka moved from Japan to New York at age three, and her deepest major run is coming at the same tournament she first visited as a child.
“Well, it definitely means a lot for me, and I always thought if I were to win a grand slam, the first one I’d want to win is the US Open, because I have grown up here and my grandparents can come and watch,” she said.
“I think it would be really cool.”
She raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set and then 4-0 in the second against the shaky Tsurenko, who finished with more unforced errors than points – 31 to 28 – in her first major quarter-final.
Osaka will face 14th-seeded American Madison Keys or Spanish 30th seed Carla Suarez Navarro in the first major semi-final appearance for a Japanese woman since Kimiko Date reached the final four at Wimbledon in 1996.
The 20-year-old said she was nervous, claiming to be “freaking out inside” – though it certainly never showed.
“Just like my entire body was shaking, so I’m really glad I was able to play well today,” Osaka said.
She won 59 points to just 28 for the unseeded Ukrainian, who said she was sick on Wednesday, waking up with a sore throat and not breathing well.
“Unfortunately during this tournament I had many issues with my health, and today was not my day obviously. I was not feeling well,” Tsurenko said.
Tsurenko didn’t appear bothered by the conditions, but whether it was her health or just first-time jitters, she was off from the minute she stepped onto Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I hate matches like this,” she said.
“I didn’t want to show this kind of game in front of this big crowd …”