NEW YORK — (AP) — Once Naomi Osaka is in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament, look out.
For a while, it was getting there that was the problem.
Right now, Osaka appears to be back at her best, and she most definitively is back at that stage of a major, getting ready to face Karolina Muchova at the U.S. Open on Wednesday for a spot in the semifinals.
It's the first time Osaka — who has been ranked No. 1 and now is seeded No. 23 — has made it this far at one of the four most important events in tennis since the Australian Open in early 2021. That was also the last time she won a Slam trophy.
So far in her career, the 27-year-old Osaka has left with the championship every time she got past the fourth round at any major, something she did at Flushing Meadows on Monday with a dominant win against No. 3 seed Coco Gauff by a 6-3, 6-2 score in barely more than an hour.
“She seems relaxed out there. ... She forced me to play how I did today," Gauff observed. “Regardless (of) whatever form she’s in, she’s always a tough player, and I don’t think anyone takes her for granted, regardless of where her ‘form’ is, especially on hard courts.”
Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion, always on that surface — winning in New York in 2018 and 2020, plus twice more at Melbourne Park — thanks to going a combined 12-0 in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
Osaka was asked about that unbeaten mark.
“I wouldn’t say it gives me pressure or confidence. I think for me, you know, this is kind of unchartered territory at this point of my career,” Osaka said, referring to the 4 1/2-year gap. “I’m just enjoying it. I’m having fun. I’m being able to play against the best players in the world.”
It was later in 2021, at the French Open. that she revealed that she had been dealing with anxiety and depression, then began taking a series of mental health breaks. She later missed 17 months for maternity leave; her daughter, Shai, was born in July 2023.
Two months after that, Osaka came to the U.S. Open and sat in the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch while Gauff beat Muchova in the semifinals en route to the title.
The 11th-seeded Muchova, a 29-year-old from the Czech Republic, is a talented all-court player who is as creative with her racket as anyone in the game. She was the runner-up to Iga Swiatek on the French Open's red clay in 2023 and also has reached the semifinals on the hard courts at Flushing Meadows each of the last two years — eliminating Osaka in the second round in 2024.
"She's a great player. I think she picked up her form again and she's getting better and better. We can see (from) her results," said Muchova, who got past Venus Williams in the first round last week. "We practiced here, actually. So I expect a really tough battle. It's going to be a challenge, for sure."
As for what's changed about Osaka over the course of her latest comeback, Muchova thinks the main thing is getting in a rhythm by competing more.
Osaka, equipped with a huge serve and huge forehand, has pushed top players over the last 1 1/2 years but hasn't always been able to quite get to the finish line, including when she held a match point but wasn't able to win a marvelous contest against Swiatek at Roland-Garros in 2024.
“The difference, I think, is she just now (has) more matches under her belt, (and is) winning matches, and I’d say ... she (has) that belief again that she can be the best, and trust her strokes more,” Muchova said. “Playing really fast, really good.”
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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