Serena Williams said that her daughter Alexis Olympia would love Naomi Osaka as her sister. Williams had this to say after Osaka shared a photo of them hanging out during a pre-Australian Open charity event for the bushfires in Queensland and Victoria. Osaka then wrote “me and my mom lol” for the caption. Williams said that their photo was cute. While she does not think that she should have been called mom, she thinks that her daughter Alexis Olympia would enjoy having Osaka as a sister.
Serena on this 'caption'.
"I thought the picture was cute (…) Definitely not the mom, though. Definitely more or less cousin? I don't know how Olympia would feel about that. She would love to have her as a sister,though. That would be cool. She could be Olympia's sister." https://t.co/V74A2tSYMT
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) January 20, 2020
The 2018 U.S. Open champ’s caption actually received a mixed response. While a lot of people commended how supportive the two women are to each other, a few also thought that Osaka called Williams old.
Osaka did not like the backlash she got after she posted the picture. She clapped back and told bashers that she called her mom because she would not have a professional tennis career without Williams. She also called out those who had negative reactions to her caption, saying that they should not be offended for Williams.
Williams, Naomi Osaka advance to second round of Australian Open
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka are on a roll after they move to the second round of the Australian Open. Williams easily defeated Russian player Anastasia Potapova 6-0 6-3. If the 38-year old player goes all the way to the finals, she could clinch her eighth Australian Open title. That would also bring her a record-tying 24th Grand Slam wins.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka, however, will not make things easy for Williams. Osaka buried Czech player Marie Bouzkova 6-2 6-4. The Japanese-American is chasing her third Grand Slam title.
World no. 1 Ashleigh Barty is also moving forward to the second round at Melbourne Park. Barty is generally considered as another contender for the title apart from Osaka and Williams. The Australian has a good chance to take home her second Grand Slam because of her home-court advantage.
Barty and Williams seem to be using the momentum they gained from winning pre-Australian Open competitions. Top seed Barty brought home the Adelaide International title while Williams secured the trophy from the ASB Classic.
Serena Williams achieves 350th Grand Slam match win
In related news, Serena Williams reaches another career milestone as she attained her 350th match win in the four Grand Slam tournaments. The win in the opening round of the Australian Open made Williams the first woman to reach the landmark number. Besides Williams, Roger Federer is the only other tennis player who has the distinction of reaching the number of wins.
Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert are far behind Williams in the list, with 306 and 299 Grand Slam match wins respectively. Steffi Graf and Venus Williams are also in the top five.
Serena Williams at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2020
Now ranked no.9, Serena Williams has a 6-0 win-loss record in 2020. Serena is now competing at the Australian Open where she defeated Anastasia Potapova 6-0 6-3.
Serena Williams will play Zidansek in the 2nd round. They have never played each so far on the main tour.
The American conquered 1 title in 2020 in Auckland.
Serena won 73 titles in her career: 43 on hard courts, 13 on clay courts, 7 on indoor courts, 2 on carpet courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
Osaka at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2020
Currently ranked no.4, the Japanese has a 4-1 win-loss record in 2020. Naomi is currently competing at the Australian Open where she toppled Marie Bouzkova 6-2 6-4.
Naomi Osaka will take on Zheng in the 2nd round. The head to head is 1-0 for Osaka.
The last time that they played, Osaka won 6-4 7-63 in the qualifications in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in April 2016.
Naomi won 5 titles in her career: all of them conquered on hard courts. (See the list of her titles)
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka played each other 3 times. The head to head is 2-1 for Osaka.
The last time that they locked horns, Serena Williams won 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Toronto (Rogers Cup) in August 2019.
Here the video highlights.
