Naomi Osaka Eases Past Shelby Rogers To Set Up US Open Semi-Final With Brady theguardian.com

Naomi Osaka continued to underscore her status as the favourite to win the US Open title as she won her ninth consecutive match since the tour restart, moving into the semi-final with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Shelby Rogers.

“I feel pretty good,” Osaka said afterwards. “I think all of the matches were really tough. The scoreline might not suggest it but I’ve had a couple of really hard matches. I think that made me really glad to be in this position right now.”

Osaka entered the court wearing a mask bearing the name of George Floyd, whose killing at the hands of police was the catalyst for her activism. She had previously amplified the names of Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin and Breonna Taylor, all high profile cases of Black people unjustly killed at the hands of police or civilians. After the match, ESPN broadcasted messages from Arbery’s father and Martin’s mother for Osaka.