Naomi osaka continues his comeback run at the US Open, eliminating 11th place Karolina Muchova 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Wednesday night, returning to the semi-finals with the Flushing Meadows for the first time since winning the title five years ago.
No. 23rd seed Osaka improved to 5-0 in the major quarterfinals – all on hard courts – living on the trend that won titles every time they reached the last eight in the slams.
“That makes a lot of sense. I’m surprised he wasn’t actually crying,” Osaka said in an interview on the court. “It was such a tough job that you’ve never seen it. I’m grateful to the team and I’m happy to be healthy.”
These titles were held at the US Open in 2018 and 2020 and at the Australia Open in 2019 and 2021. The latest trophy at Melbourne Park was the last time Osaka won it until the fourth round at a slam event before this year’s US Open.
Osaka, who was sowed into majors for the first time since giving birth to her daughter, Shy, has played her best tennis since rejoining the tour after 17 months of maternity leave. She cruised past three seeded Cocogoffs 6-3, 6-2 in 16 rounds, and only dropped one set for the tournament.
Osaka’s victory over Muchova was the sixth tour-level victory over WTA Top 20 opponents, marking the longest winning streak of her career since 2019-20.
Muchova, a runner-up in France’s Open in 2023 and a semi-finalist in New York for the past two years, has played 145 games in the tournament. She was made up of three sets in each of the first four rounds.
The 27-year-old Osaka will then face No. 8 Amanda Anisimova who confused No. 2 Iga Swiatek on Wednesday, less than two months after losing to six Grand Slam champions in the Wimbledon Finals 6-0, 6-0.
ESPN research and Associated Press contributed to this report.