Osaka seeks second slam

Naomi Osaka never made it past the fourth round at any of the first 10 grand slam tournaments of her career. Now, still just 21, she’s suddenly on the verge of a second consecutive major championship. And the No 1 ranking, too.

Osaka moved one victory away from adding the Australian Open trophy to the one she collected four months ago at the US Open, using her smooth power to produce 15 aces and groundstroke winners to beat Karolina Plı´sˇkova´, of the Czech Republic, 6-2 4-6 6-4 in the semifinals last night.

‘‘I just told myself to regroup in the third set and just try as hard as I can,’’ said Osaka, who saved four break points in the last set and finished the match with an ace.

A day after erasing four match points and a 5-1 deficit in the third set to stun Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, Plı´sˇkova´ could not produce the same kind of comeback.

Instead it is Osaka, the only Japanese woman to win a major singles title, who will face two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova´ tomorrow, with the winner take over at No 1.

Two years ago, Kvitova´ missed the Australian Open, just weeks after her left hand was stabbed by an intruder at her home in the Czech Republic.

‘‘I didn’t know even if I [was] going to play again,’’ Kvitova´ said. ‘‘It’s been a long journey.’’

Back at her best during what she calls her ‘‘second career,’’ Kvitova´ surged to a 7-6 (2) 6-0 victory against 35thranked American Danielle Collins