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Naomi Osaka: (IMage Source: Twitter)
Serena Williams is spending her final month on the Tennis court professionally as she will be retiring from the sport after the ongoing US Open. As the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion plans to hang her boots soon, Japanese star player Naomi Osaka witnessed her hero's match in her penultimate tournament.
Williams took on the 19-year-old Emma Raducanu in the first-round match at the Cincinnati Masters late on Tuesday. Soon after completing her match, Osaka skipped her post-match press conference obligations to attend Williams' match. Osaka lost to Shuai Zhang in straight sets 4-6, 5-7 in the Round of 64. During the 2018 US Open final, Osaka emerged victorious against Williams in the final, but it was marred by an on-court dispute between Williams and the umpire.
In the Williams vs Raducanu fixture, Raducanu dominated the match throughout as she broke Williams in the opening game before wrapping up a 6-4, 6-0 win. For Williams, the defeat marks the end of her WTA Tour.
Caption This! 😂 @naomiosaka | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/K7PTaH8MnA
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 17, 2022
Raducanu broke Williams twice in the first set to race to a 4-1 lead before Williams produced her first and only break point of the match. Williams tried her best to close the gap but Raducanu served out the opening set after 39 minutes.
Raducanu then raced away in the second set to clinch her 12th win of the season, hitting zero unforced errors to finish off the match. She will next meet former world number one Victoria Azarenka in the second round. Williams fell to 0-2 in matches since announcing that she would be retiring from the sport after the US Open.
Last week in a Vogue magazine essay, which she also shared on her Instagram, Williams said that she is evolving away from tennis, without mentioning explicitly that the US Open would be her last tournament. Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, stated that the reason behind stepping away from the sport is that she wanted to expand her family. Post her announcement, fans are making the most of the opportunity to see their favourite star for one final time.