As Serena Williams nears the end, her greatness plays on in Naomi Osaka - The Washington Post

Asked during a news conference after her semifinal loss to Naomi Osaka on Thursday in Melbourne, she was coy: “I don’t know.

In her sport, she is well beyond Tom Brady territory when it comes to age defiance, and though she played some of her best recent tennis during this tournament, the hunt for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title seems more burdensome than exciting for her now.

With power and fortitude, Osaka outplays her idol to advance to Australian Open final.

Osaka respects Williams so much.

You get the sense there’s a part of Osaka that feels the same as the rest of Williams’s fans when she loses just shy of matching Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record.

While it’s a wonderful gift to marvel over the longevity of Williams and other superstars, the final key piece of a legacy involves lasting influence on future generations.

There’s always an Osaka, and the fact that she has beaten Williams in this semifinal and the 2018 U.S.

Between the Super Bowl and this Australian Open matchup, the new year has already given us two spectacular, generational clashes.

But there’s something novel about Osaka and Williams.

There’s not enough time left in Williams’s career for Osaka to go down as one of her fiercest rivals, but she figures to be the last dominant champion in her path.

If Osaka can defeat Jennifer Brady in the final, she will clinch her fourth Grand Slam.

Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka have a brief but memorable history.

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