MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Serena Williams broke down in tears and cut brief her submit-in shape information convention after her 6-3 6-four defeat to Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday ended her bid for a document-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.

Williams won her closing principal identify in 2017 at Melbourne Park before taking a destroy from the game to give delivery to daughter Alexis Olympia, and has lost 4 predominant finals since returning to tennis in 2018.

The 39-12 months-vintage, who's one Grand Slam quick of Margaret Court's document, walked off Rod Laver Arena to a standing ovation on Thursday, pausing for a moment to put her hand on her coronary heart and wave to the group.

"The Aussie crowd is so incredible, so it changed into high-quality to look," Williams, sporting a "Queen" necklace, instructed journalists.

When requested if her go out from the court was a very last farewell to Melbourne Park, she said with a grin: "If I ever say farewell, I would not inform all and sundry.

"But the smile quickly faded, and a question about whether or not her defeat to Osaka was just a "awful day at the workplace" noticed her take a sip of water earlier than choking up.

"I do not know. I'm accomplished," she stated, leaving the room in tears.

Williams had regarded her sharpest in years at the tournament but 24 unforced mistakes fee her towards Osaka, who additionally beat her in the 2018 U.S. Open final.

"The difference nowadays become errors," Williams said earlier in her information convention. "Honestly, it become opportunities wherein I ought to have won. I might have been up 5-Love. I simply made such a lot of errors.

"Not like I was on the run or something, they were just clean, clean mistakes. It became a huge blunders day for me these days."

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