American tennis star Serena Williams booked her place in the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup after getting better of world number one Naomi Osaka of Japan in straight sets in the highly-anticipated last-eight clash of the tournament in Montreal on Saturday.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who is currently ranked world number 10, did not face a break point throughout the quarter-final clash and smashed 12 aces to secure a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Osaka in one hour and 16 minutes.
Following the win which came under windy conditions, Williams admitted that she was a bit better than Osaka in today's clash.
"I knew her game a little bit more, so that's a little easier. I'm just overall a little bit better. You know, last year was -- you know, it was a miraculous year for me, to be honest," the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) quoted Williams as saying.
"Overall, I just went in with a similar mindset of just coming out and doing the best that I can. It's definitely good for me to keep the competition and, you know, to have players like her who can play really well," the former world number one added.
In the opening set, the Japanese tennis player saved two break points in the sixth game before she failed to save a third to eventually fell behind Williams by a margin of 6-3.
Williams began much strongly in the second set, breaking early to take a 0-40 lead in the first game before winning Osaka's serve to make it 2-1. Subsequently, she served two aces to once again open up with a 40-0 lead in the final game of the second set before Osaka failed to get a racquet on the American's 12th ace of the clash to knock out of the tournament.
As a result, Williams has sealed her maiden victory over Osaka after she failed to clinch a set against the Japanese star in both of their previous matches.
The American is bidding to seal her fourth title at the Canadian Open after sealing victories in 2001, 2011, and 2013. She will now square off with Czech's Marie Bouzkova for a place in the summit showdown.
