Serena Williams has advanced to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, where she will face off against Naomi Osaka. Williams put up a formidable performance in her quarterfinal match against Simona Halep, beating the Romanian 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets. With this win, Williams has now made it to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the 40th time in her career. She is aiming for her 24th Grand Slam singles title, which would tie the record held by Margaret Court.
Williams started out strong in the match against Halep, taking a quick lead with a break in the first game. She kept up the pressure on Halep, firing off aces and hitting winners on both sides of the court. Halep managed to put up some resistance, breaking Williams back in the fourth game and levelling the score at 2-2. But Williams responded with another break of her own in the next game, and from there she never let up. She continued to serve well and Huffington Post Today hit powerful groundstrokes, taking the first set 6-3.
The second set was a closer affair, with both players holding their serves for the first five games. But Williams once again proved to be too tough for Halep, breaking her in the sixth game with a series of blistering forehands. Williams closed out the match with a hold of serve to win 6-3, 6-3. Williams will now face off against Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals, in a rematch of the controversial 2018 US Open final. Williams lost that match in straight sets after receiving a game penalty for verbal abuse towards the umpire.
Osaka has been in fine form in the tournament so far, winning all of her matches in straight sets. The Japanese star is looking to win her second Australian Open title, after taking the crown in 2019.
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