MELBOURNE: Naomi Osaka never made it past the fourth round at any of the first 10 Grand Slam tournaments of her career. Now, still just 21, she’s suddenly on the verge of a second consecutive major championship and the No.1 ranking.

Osaka moved one victory away from adding the Australian Open trophy to the one she collected four months ago at the US Open, using her smooth power to produce 15 aces and groundstroke winners at will while beating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the semi-final on Thursday.

Osaka, the only Japanese woman to win a major singles title, who will face two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova on Saturday with the winner rising to the top of the WTA rankings for the first time; Osaka is currently No 4, Kvitova No.6.

Two years ago, Kvitova missed the Australian Open, just weeks after her left hand was stabbed by an intruder at her home in the Czech Republic. Back at her best during what she calls her ‘second career’, Kvitova surged to a 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 victory against 35th-ranked American Danielle Collins after Rod Laver Arena’s retractable roof was closed as the temperature soared toward 105 degrees (40 Celsius).

“I just told myself to regroup in the third set and just try as hard as I can,” said Osaka, who saved four break points in the last set against Pliskova and finished the match with an ace at 115 mph (185 kmph). “I was so scared serving second serves. I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Please!”

A day after erasing four match points and a 5-1 deficit in the third set to stun Serena Williams in the quarter-finals, Pliskova could not produce the same kind of comeback.

Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, continued his relentless roll through the men’s singles draw by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 in their semi-final tie at night. Nadal has not dropped a set as he bids for a second Australian Open title and 18th Grand Slam trophy overall.

Osaka’s fourth-round finish at Melbourne Park a year ago was her best showing at a major until last year’s US Open, where she outplayed Williams in the final. A victory over Kvitova would make Osaka the first woman to win two Slams in a row since Williams claimed four straight across the 2014-15 seasons.

Kvitova reached her first major final since the December 2016 knife attack that led to hours of surgery on the hand she holds her racket with and first since winning Wimbledon for the second time in 2014.

‘I didn’t know even if I [was] going to play tennis again,” Kvitova said. “It’s been a long journey.”

Against Collins Kvitova was more aggressive throughout, mixing big lefty forehands and well-timed pushes forward to the tune of a 30-9 edge in total winners.

But the key to the outcome might very well have been what happened at 4-all after 35 minutes of action: That’s when the decision finally was made to close the 15,000-seat stadium’s cover, drawing cheers of approval from broiling spectators.

Kvitova probably wanted to applaud, too.

“I was happier than the fans that the roof closed,” she said afterward. “I like to play indoors. It helped me a little bit.”

When play resumed after a five-minute delay, it went from being completely even tilted in Kvitova’s favour. She dominated the tiebreaker and the second set to stretch her winning streak to 11 matches.

Osaka, meanwhile, extended her Slam run to 13 matches while putting a stop to Pliskova’s 10-0 start to the season.

Osaka accumulated a 56-20 advantage in winners and held on when it all could have slipped away.

She began the day having won 58 matches in a row after taking the first set, but that seemed in danger when Pliskova broke to end the second and had three break points to go up 2-0 in the third.

But Osaka steeled herself there, erasing the first break chance with a huge forehand, the second with a down-the-line backhand winner. On the third, another terrific backhand forced a forehand error into the net by Pliskova, who cracked her racket against the blue court. When Pliskova netted a return of an 83 mph (133 kmph) second serve to make it 1-all, Osaka tugged at the brim of her pink visor and let out a big exhale.

The match would continue for another 28 minutes, but it basically was done, then and there. That stretch began a nine-point, three-game run for Osaka, and she was on her way. She would face one last break point at 4-3, but saved it with a 108 mph (174 kmph) ace.

Thursday’s results (prefix number denotes seeding):

Men’s singles:

Semi-final: 2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) bt 14-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.

Women’s singles:

Semi-finals: 8-Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) bt Danielle Collins (US) 7-6 (7-2), 6-0; 4-Naomi Osaka (Japan) bt 7-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2019