Fourth seed Naomi Osaka overcame unseeded Shelby Rogers in straight sets to reach the US Open semi-finals on Tuesday and declared it “revenge” for earlier defeats.
The Japanese 2018 US Open champion brushed aside the 27-year-old American 6-3, 6-4, in an hour and 20 minutes.
The 22 year-old Osaka will now play 28th-seeded American Jennifer Brady on Thursday for a place in the final.
Despite going into the last-eight match as favorite, the world number 9 Osaka said she was apprehensive about playing the 93rd-ranked Rogers because she had failed to beat her in three previous outings.
“Honestly, I just felt like she had the upper hand because I’ve never beaten her,” Osaka said. “And those memories are stuck in my head so I consider this a little bit of revenge,” she added.
Brady, 25, earlier ousted 23rd seed Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-2.
Osaka, of Haitian and Japanese heritage, walked onto the court wearing a facemask emblazoned with the name of George Floyd, the unarmed black man whose death in police custody in May sparked nationwide protests.
The 2019 Australian Open champion is wearing different masks honoring victims of racial injustice and police brutality throughout the tournament. She has already donned face coverings bearing the names of Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin.
After her match, Osaka was shown video messages from Martin’s mother and Arbery’s father in which they thanked thanked her for her support.
“I was just trying really hard not to cry,” Osaka said when asked about how she felt while watching the videos.
“It’s extremely touching that they would feel touched by what I’m doing. For me, I feel like what I’m doing is nothing. It’s a speck of what I could be doing,” she added.