Australian Open tennis: Serena knocks off Halep, sets up Osaka semifinal

Feb. 16 (UPI) — Serena Williams knocked off Simona Halep in straight sets on Tuesday in Melbourne to set up a blockbuster semifinal tennis match with Naomi Osaka at the 2021 Australian Open.

Osaka also advanced on Tuesday with a straight-sets win over Su-wei Hsieh. Williams and Osaka face off on Thursday in Melbourne for a chance to go to the 2021 women’s singles final.

“I have an incredible opponent to play. It will be nice to hopefully keep raising the level of my game. I’m going to have to.”

Williams fired four aces, 24 winners and had five return winners in Tuesday’s one-hour, 21-minute match against the No. 2 player in the WTA rankings. Halep did not have an ace and had just nine winners in the setback.

Williams — ranked No. 10 — raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first set. Halep then won the next two games. Williams responded with three consecutive game victories. Halep claimed the eighth game.

Williams then won the final game and the first set on a Halep backhand forced error.

Halep had a 2-0 lead to start the second set. Williams then won the third game on another Halep forced error. Halep answered with a win in the fourth game. Williams then closed out the match with wins in the final five games. The 23-time Grand Slam champion claimed match point on a forehand winner.

Osaka beat Hsieh in 66 minutes on Tuesday at Rod Laver Arena. The world No. 3 had seven aces, 24 winners, won four of 12 break points and had just one double fault and 14 unforced errors in the win.

Hsieh did not have an ace, did not win a single break point and had 23 unforced errors in the loss.

“Today, I told myself to be really intense from the beginning,” Osaka told reporters on Tuesday. “I knew what to expect and I couldn’t afford to be lazy. I didn’t want to play three sets today.”

No. 1 Ash Barty battles No. 27 Karolina Muchova in another women’s singles quarterfinal on Wednesday. The winner of that match takes on one of two Americans — Jennifer Brady or Jessica Pegula — in the other women’s semifinal.

Brady and Pegula also face off on Wednesday in a women’s singles quarterfinal.

Aslan Karatsev also advanced Tuesday on the men’s singles circuit. He upset No. 21 Grigor Dimitrov in four sets. Karatsev lost the first game of that match, but won the final three games of the quarterfinal.

The winner of that match faces No. 1 Novak Djokovic or No. 7 Alexander Zverev in a men’s singles semifinal. No. 2 Rafael Nadal battles No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 4 Daniil Medvedev battles No. 8 Andrey Rublev in the other men’s quarterfinals on Wednesday in Melbourne.

Serena Williams returns the ball to her sister, Venus, during their match at the Lipton Tennis Championship in Key Biscayne, Fla., on March 28, 1998. Venus Williams, defeated her sister 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Photo by Susan Knowles/UPI | License Photo

Seventh seed Williams celebrates her Woman’s Single victory over first seed Martina Hingis at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships on September 11, 1999. Williams defeated Hingis 6-3, 7-6. Photo by H.R. Celestin/UPI | License Photo

Sisters and teammates, Venus (L) and Serena Williams hug on the medal stand after receiving their gold medals in the women’s doubles at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, on September 28, 2000. They defeated the Dutch pair of Kristie Boogert and Miriam Oremans 6-1, 6-1 in 49 minutes.Photo by Christine Chew/UPI | License Photo

Andre Agassi (L to R), Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, and Ellen DeGeneres have a laugh while on the court during Arthur Ashe Kids Day in New York City on August 26, 2006. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Williams hits a backhand during her straight sets defeat of Ana Ivanovic at the U.S. Open in New York City on September 3, 2006. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams, the fourth seed, challenges a call as she takes on Kateryna Bondarenko in the first set of play at the U.S. Open in New York City, on August 26, 2008. Williams went on to win 6-1, 6-4. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI | License Photo

Venus Williams (L), returns the ball to sister Serena in the second set of their quarter-final game at U.S. Open in New York City on September 3, 2008. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams reacts after a point in her match against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez on Day 5 at the U.S. Open in New York City on September 4, 2009. Williams defeated Sanchez 6-2, 7-5. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Venus Williams (L) and sister Serena congratulate one another as they take on Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Liezel Huber in women’s doubles finals match at the U.S. Open in New York City on September 14, 2009. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI | License Photo

Williams slams a return to Maria Sharapova at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford University in California on July 29, 2011. Williams defeated Sharapova 6-1, 6-3. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams changes sides after the first game in her match against Bojana Jovanovski on Day 2 of the U.S. Open in New York City on August 30, 2011. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Williams gets called for a code violation in the second set when she speaks out to chair umpire Eva Asderakia during her match against Samantha Stosur in the Women’s Final at the U.S. Open in New York City on September 11, 2011. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Serene Williams celebrates winning the women’s final against Agnieszka Radwanska at the Wimbledon Championships in London on July 7, 2012. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams does a split after returning the ball in the second set of her three-set victory over Victoria Azarenka in the women’s finals at the U.S. Open in New York City on September 9, 2012. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams serves to Sloane Stephens in the first set of fourth-round action at the U.S. Open in New York City on September 1, 2013. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI | License Photo

The sun sets behind the Manhattan skyline as Serena Williams serves to Carla Suarez Navarro at the U.S. Open in New York City on September 3, 2013. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams returns in her match against Anna Tatishvilli on Day two of the Wimbledon Championships in London on June 24, 2014. Williams won the match 6-1, 6-2. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams reacts during her match against Heather Watson on Day 5 of the Wimbledon Championships in London on July 3, 2015. Williams won the match 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams returns the ball in the Women’s Singles Final against Garbine Muguruza on Day 12 of the Wimbledon Championships in London on July 11, 2015. Williams won the match 6-4, 6-4. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI. | License Photo

Serena Williams attends the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on February 28, 2016. Photo by David Silpa/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams jumps rope with kids on the court at Arthur Ashe Kids Day at the U.S. Open in New York City on August 25, 2018. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Serena Williams high-fives doubles partner Andy Murray in their first round mixed doubles match against Alexa Guarachi and Andreas Mies at Wimbledon in London on July 6, 2019. Williams and Murray won the match 6-4, 6-1. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo