Japan's Naomi Osaka beat unseeded American Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-4 for a spot in the last four at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
The win puts Osaka into a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since she won the Australian Open title in 2019.
"I consider this a little bit of revenge," Osaka said, referencing the 3-0 winning record the American held over her coming into the match in an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows.
"I feel like I've gone through a lot (since they last played in 2017), but the Charleston match left sort of a really bad aftertaste in my mouth, so I'm really glad I was able to have a much better, positive attitude today."
It took former world No. 1 Osaka just six games to grab the upper hand, breaking Rogers' serve to assume a 4-2 lead. But Rogers showed great resilience to immediately break back, taking advantage of her first break point opportunity of the match after an Osaka ace was ruled out via challenge.
Osaka was not to be denied, however, immediately breaking Rogers' serve in the following game and then closing the set out on her own serve.
Just one break did the damage in the second set, Osaka capitalizing on a string of unforced errors to go up 2-1. She then held firm the rest of the way, not giving up a break point opportunity on the way to securing the win.
Unforced errors proved the American's undoing, with her 28 across the two sets giving her little shot of beating Osaka, despite the 22-year-old's struggles on her first serve.
Osaka will have to overcome another American if she is to continue her quest for a third Grand Slam title after world No. 41 Jennifer Brady beat Yulia Putintseva in their quarterfinal.
After calling Brady an "amazing player," Osaka said the 28th seed "has the variety that I wish I had, so I'm a bit jealous."
"She's super nice and I think it's going to be a really tough match and we're both going to try our best."
Brady and Osaka have split their two previous meetings, the most recent a win by the Japanese-Haitian in 2018.
Osaka was asked after the match about the strapping she has been wearing on her upper left thigh which she injured at the lead-in Western and Southern Open.
She said she has considered the athletic tape precautionary, adding "at this point, I'm just taping it hoping that something doesn't happen."
Continuing her stand against racial injustice and police violence, Osaka wore a mask bearing the name of George Floyd before and after her quarterfinal.
Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police in May, sparking worldwide protests and bringing the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront of the public's consciousness in the United States and elsewhere.
Osaka has worn a similar mask to each of her U.S. Open matches, honoring black victims of institutional racism and violence.
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