THE Western and Southern Open quarter finals saw a day of mostly predictable outcomes heading into the semi-finals, with three of the four matches done and dusted in straight sets and all four complete in under two hours.

But the real intrigue came in the matchup between Naomi Osaka and Anett Kontaveit, with the two seeds (fourth and 12th respectively) going to three sets in an enticing matchup, only for Osaka to withdraw from the semi-finals after defeating Kontaveit, 4-6 6-2 7-5. In what was a real rollercoaster of a match, the duo traded blows throughout the first set, with Kontaveit breaking to lead 4-2 early and Osaka unable to win off the Estonian’s serve. A quick 2-0 start to the second set from Kontaveit would not last long though, with Osaka winning nine games on the trot to run away with the second set and the momentum heading into the decider. 

Of her turnaround in form between the first and second sets, Osaka said that she was losing confidence and “miss(ing) balls that I thought I shouldn’t miss, but then I’m not putting in the effort to correct myself”.

“I just gave myself a lot of excuses… So that was the direction I was heading in the first set and like the beginning of the second set. And then just to correct myself, I just began thinking of all my regrets, and I have never regretted a match where I have tried my best and lost.”

But after completing the match with a huge semi-final looming against Belgian Elise Mertens, Osaka did the unexpected. She withdrew from the final in a bid to draw further attention toward racial injustice in the United States during the week, joining a number of other athletes across NBA, WNBA, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer as she did so.

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— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) August 27, 2020

With confirmation that the competition will be boycotted for the semi-finals on Thursday, expect to see some highly tense contests when they do go ahead as planned, just a day later than expected. Mertens defeated American Jessica Pegula in the shortest match of the day, done and dusted in 64 minutes. Thanks to Osaka’s withdrawal, Mertens will head straight into the final, taking on the winner of the second semi-final between Victoria Azarenka and Johanna Konta. 

Azarenka overcame a higher ranked Ons Jabeur after a tough first set resulted in the former world number one Belarusian lifting her game in the second, while Konta defeated an in-form Maria Sakkari.

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— USTA (@usta) August 27, 2020

WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN WTA TOUR RESULTS:

[4] Naomi Osaka (JPN) defeated [12] Anett Kontaveit (EST) 4-6 6-2 7-5
[8] Johanna Konta (GBR) defeated [13] Maria Sakkari (GRE) 6-4 6-3
[14] Elise Mertens (BEL) defeated Jessica Pegula (USA) 6-1 6-3
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) defeated Ons Jabeur (TUN) 7-6 6-2

Picture: AP