It may be unwise to make Naomi Osaka angry this summer. The US Open champion took just 21 minutes to win the second set in her Brisbane International quarter-final victory over Anastasija Sevastova as she powered forward in her impressive Australian Open warm-up.
A frustrated Osaka, the second seed and world No.5, told herself to relax and reset after she dropped the first set to the Latvian eighth seed on Pat Rafter Arena before unleashing in the second, eventually closing out the match 3-6, 6-0, 6-4.
Impressive: Naomi Osaka on her way to a comeback victory over Anastasija Sevastova in Brisbane on Thursday.Credit:AP
"She's an amazing player. I was just trying to stay calm and tell myself that she is one of the best players in the world. I just had to stay in there and get a chance and I think I did. I just rolled with it," Osaka said.
A quiet word from her coach Sascha Bajin after the first set did more than just give the 21-year-old fresh focus. Osaka returned to the court an entirely new player, blasting Sevastova out of the contest and squaring the match before her opponent had time to digest her Powerade.
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Osaka lost just five points in the set, winning 24, before setting up the third with a break and striding into the semi-finals of a tournament that she would now be favourite to win after a raft of upsets and withdrawals, including world No.1 Simona Halep (ankle), before it began.
She will play the winner of the match between the unseeded pairing of Anett Kontaveit and Lesia Tsurenko.
Brisbane has already seen the early exit of top seed Elina Svitolina, third seed Sloane Stephens, fourth seed Petra Kvitova and sixth seed Kiki Bertens.
Only Karolina Pliskova (fifth seed) remains standing and looms as a potential finals opponent for Osaka, although the Czech must yet advance past Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic when they meet on Friday night.
Osaka shot to fame not only with her grand slam breakthrough in New York but also the melodrama that surrounded her beaten opponent Serena Williams. But that result was hardly a stroke of good fortune and the Japanese star looks to have some serious momentum heading to the hardcourts of Melbourne.
With Stephens losing in the first round, Osaka will get a rankings boost as well should she take out the WTA event in the Queensland capital. She started the week ranked fifth but could go into Melbourne as high as three, depending on results overseas.
That would leave just Halep and Germany's Angelique Kerber ahead of her in the Australian Open seedings as she aims to add another slam to her collection well before her 22nd birthday.
Another meeting with Williams (world No.16) would be the dream match-up. The American great has been in Perth playing the Hopman Cup, where she gained global headlines for her doubles match against Roger Federer as part of the teams event.
It was the first time the pair, recognised as the greatest female and male players to have graced the court, squared off in competition. And while the selfies went around the world, Osaka was quietly taking care of business on the other side of the continent.
She has also entered the Sydney International as part of her Australian Open preparations but won't run into Williams until Melbourne, with the American superstar preferring Perth as her starting point as she chases her eighth Australian Open title.
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