A decisive display of power and serve precision shifted momentum on Centre Court, producing Osaka’s landmark win and hinting at an unexpected Wimbledon run.
According to London AP, Naomi Osaka defeated the top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 7-6(2) and for the first time reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Centre Court on Sunday.
Sabalenka had previously beaten Osaka in three of their prior meetings this year – including the same stage at last month’s French Open.
But this time Sabalenka couldn’t slow Osaka’s pace or her flat groundstrokes: the balls were flying faster on the tournament’s hottest day.
The temperature on Centre Court during the match reached 28 degrees Celsius.
After the final whistle Osaka pumped a few fists, smiled and raised her racket above her head, celebrating her first Centre Court victory of her career.
Summary and key moments of the match
There hasn’t been this much joy on the court in a long time.
– Naomi Osaka
And doing this here really means a lot.
– Naomi Osaka
This was her first win over No. 1 since 2019, when she defeated Ash Barty in Beijing. It also came after Osaka paused the tour for mental health reasons and in 2023 for maternity leave.
Osaka showed impressive power: early in the second-set rally she nearly pushed Sabalenka off the court.
I just want to quit tennis.
– Sabalenka
Sabalenka and Osaka now have four Grand Slam titles each, and all of them were won on hard courts – the Australian Open and the US Open.
Osaka is now approaching her first grass-court final of her career after retiring from the Bad Homburg final due to a foot injury.
Osaka’s next opponent is Karolina Muchova, who defeated Wimbledon 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
Before the match, Osaka appeared in a white kimono she wears when coming out to the court at Wimbledon; the look was inspired by a character from a Quentin Tarantino film.
At the end of the first set, one of Sabalenka’s coaches came down from the stands with four new rackets – presumably with higher tension to better control Osaka’s pace.
Osaka set the tone earlier: on the first break point she produced an inside-out backhand swing and took a 2-1 lead in the first set.
In the tiebreak of the second set, Sabalenka’s string of errors gave Osaka complete control. Osaka managed to save both break points, and her first-serve percentage was 87% to 69% for Sabalenka. Osaka also led in aces – 8-5 – and in winning points – 21-15; the match duration was less than an hour and a half.
The loss of Krejcikova guarantees a new Wimbledon women’s champion – the ninth consecutive tournament without the defending champion in attendance. The official draw still included Svitolina, Rybakina and Williams, but none of them advanced in the tournament.
No. 4 Jessica Pegula also advanced, defeating Iva Jovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Earlier on Centre Court Djokovic defeated world No. 132 qualifier Roman Safiullin in four sets, 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, marking his 106th win at the All England Club.
This gave Djokovic one win ahead of the all-time men’s record at Wimbledon, though he still trails Martina Navratilova in total career wins – 120.
Djokovic will next meet the winner of the match between third seed Félix Auger‑Aliassime and No. 22 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The tournament continues, with the semifinalists in both singles draws being determined, and Wimbledon continues to keep spectators on their toes with unpredictable twists.
AloJapan.com