Naomi Osaka Loses to Serena Williams in Rogers Cup Rematch of US Open Final

Serena Williams beat Naomi Osaka to advance to the Rogers Cup semifinals in Toronto on Friday, nearly one year after their controversial US Open final match.

When Williams, 37, and Osaka, 21, met last September, the younger tennis player won her first-ever Grand Slam title, and the older made headlines for an outburst against the chair umpire. Fortunately, their next meeting, which was last Friday in Toronto, was less dramatic.

According to CNN, Williams defeated Osaka 6-3 6-4 to progress to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup where she has so far not dropped a set.

Still To Come: Williams was fined for illegal coaching, breaking her racket and verbal abuse

The tennis legend is next set to face Czech qualifier Marie Bouzkova in the final four as she inches closer to her fourth Rogers Cup title. She previously won the event in 2001, 2011 and 2013.

Following the game, Williams, who suffered a defeat at the Wimbledon final last month, said of Osaka:

“I knew her game a little bit more, so that’s a little easier. I’m just overall a little bit better. I know her game. I watch her a lot. I know what I need to do to hopefully try to get a win today, and it helped a little bit.”

Meanwhile, Osaka, who returns to the world No. 1 spot today, told CNN that losing to Williams is an “accomplishment.”

"This is someone that I looked up to forever. So in a weird way, losing today, I accomplished my dream. I know that sounds kind of weird, but, you know, if there's anyone in the world that I would want to lose to -- of course I would never want to lose -- but I don't mind losing to her because I learned a lot."

“And this is someone that I kind of modeled my game after when I was little. So this is such a big learning experience for me,” Osaka added.

In September 2018, Williams and Osaka met at the US Open final where the former disputed with umpire Carlos Ramos who slapped her with three separate on-court violations.

Williams was fined for illegal coaching, breaking her racket and verbal abuse. She insisted that she’d rather lose than cheat, accused Ramos of stealing a point from her, and suggested that his actions were sexist.