The 21-year-old Japanese star overcame the seventh seed 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach a second straight Grand Slam decider after her breakthrough triumph over Serena Williams at last year’s US Open.

Osaka started strongly to take the first set as the match began with the roof of Rod Laver Arena closed amid sweltering temperatures exceeding 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Farenheit).

But Pliskova, who ousted American great Williams with an epic comeback to make the semi-finals on Wednesday, roared back in the second before Osaka edged past her in the third.

“I expected it, I expected a really hard battle,” Osaka said of Pliskova’s attempt to come back from a set and a break down.

“I just told myself to regroup in the third set and try as hard as I could no matter what, and I managed to win.”

She said her win at Flushing Meadows helped settle her nerves against the never-say-die Czech.

“I was so scared serving second serves, I was like ‘oh my God, please!'” she said. “I guess that’s experience, I don’t know.

Osaka is bidding to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2015 to win the US and Australian Opens back to back.

She will also become the new world number one, replacing Romania’s Simona Halep, if she beats Kvitova in the final.

Pliskova was the bookies’ favourite for the title after her effort against Williams but made a slow start, hitting only four winners to Osaka’s 16 in the first set.

The fired up Japanese also dominated on serve as she ended Pliskova’s 10-match winning streak.

After blasting down an ace in her first service game, Osaka carved out three break points on Pliskova’s serve.

A blistering backhand gave her the advantage following a baseline slugfest with the Czech.

Pliskova double faulted to hand Osaka a second break and the Japanese star went on to serve out the set with an ace after 32 minutes.

The opening four games of the second set all went against serve as Pliskova threw everything at Osaka trying to find a way back into the match.

Osaka absorbed the pressure and continued to play her shots as the dogged Czech went on the attack.

She held on until two unforced errors, trailing at 5-4, handed a jubilant Pliskova the second set after 41 minutes.

Osaka managed a crucial hold as the third game of the third set turned into a seven-minute arm-wrestle, fending off three break points.

She then broke in the next game but Pliskova continued to press and the Japanese player had to see off break point with an ace before serving out the match.

She hit another ace on match point which was called out but successfully challenged the decision to ensure she made the final

The two-time Wimbledon champion stormed past debutant Danielle Collins 7-6 (7/2), 6-0 in their semi-final after the closure of the roof in searing Melbourne heat gave the Czech a boost.

Collins was matching Kvitova until play was interrupted late in the first set while the roof on Rod Laver Arena was closed as the temperature soared past 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Farenheit).

Czech eighth seed Kvitova said until then she was struggling to find her best form.

“I’m really glad that it (form) came in the tie-break and in the second set,” she said.

“I think I was happier than the fans when the roof closed, I like to play indoors and I think that helped me a little bit.”

Collins, who had a dream run to make the final four on her Australian debut, became flustered after Kvitova won a first-set tie-breaker and her game fell apart in the second set.

Reaching the final is the highlight of what Kvitova calls her “second career”, after she returned following a terrifying attack in her home in the Czech Republic in late 2016.

A burglar slashed her racquet hand, sidelining her for almost six months and causing permanent nerve damage.

“It means everything, finally I can make it deep in this major and whatever happens I’m very happy,” the big-serving left-hander said.

She also had a dig at those who believed she would never again hit the heights she enjoyed before her life was turned upside down.

“It’s been a while. It’s been five years,” she said, referring to her last Grand Slam final.

“You know, that’s why I worked pretty hard to be back here. It just tastes very great.

“To be honest, I think not very many people believed that I could do that again, to stand on the court and play tennis and kind of play on this level. It was just really few of them, I think,” she added.

“I’m very happy to have those few around me, which is the best. Hopefully (this will be) for them, for my family and for everybody who was there when I needed it.”

 

– Umpire trouble –

 

Kvitova, who is on an 11-match win streak after winning the Sydney International warm-up tournament, will claim the number one ranking if she lifts the trophy on Saturday, deposing Romania’s Simona Halep.

World number 35 Collins, who a year ago was ranked 167, will rise to 23 as a result of her run to the final four.

The combative American, who took Kvitova to three sets in their only previous meeting, initially performed strongly to force a first-set tie-break.

She was matching Kvitova’s power hitting when the roof was closed mid-way through the set at 4-4 to shut out the afternoon sun.

But Collins lost her cool when Kvitova ran away with it 7-2 and argued with the umpire at the beginning of the second set.

“Every time I hit a good serve or win the point there’s something,” she told umpire Carlos Ramos, the same official who was the subject of Serena Williams’ infamous rant in last year’s US Open final.

Kvitova, vastly more experienced than her opponent, kept her composure and won the second set at a canter.

“Definitely everything is coming together. It’s very connected. I’m happy for that,” said the Czech star.

“The VAR is like an airbag: it can help in case of emergency, but only in case of a real emergency,” was how former Swiss referee Urs Meier regarded the system which still draws mixed views on how best to use it.

In Germany, where the VAR is into its second season, video assistants are being instructed not to improve decisions – only to eradicate bad ones.

“The video assistant should not ask himself, ‘did the referee make a good decision?’ On the contrary, the question should be ‘did he make a bad decision?” explained Jochen Drees, the VAR project leader for the German Football Association (DFB), in Berlin.

In short, all matters of interpretation must be at the sole discretion of the referee on the pitch and the video assistant can only point out what he saw.

So if the VAR reports an error, the referee must watch the replay and form his own opinion. No longer can a red card be shown or a goal disallowed based solely on the video assistant’s judgment. The complaint of ‘double refereeing’ should disappear.

“The referee must under no circumstances make a decision, if he has not looked at the incident himself,” insists Drees.

 

– Technical breakdowns –

 

Throughout Europe, the impact of the VAR has generally been positive.

“The video assistant referee has helped divide by three the number of errors impacting matches” said Pascal Garibian, chief of France’s referees.

However, the system continues to polarise opinions and there have been several examples of the technology breaking down during matches.

At the weekend in the French league, Monaco coach Thierry Henry was furious when the VAR stopped working, as his side were thumped 5-1 at home to Strasbourg, when he felt they should have been awarded a penalty.

“There was a foul on Rony Lopes in the box when it was 2-1,” fumed the 41-year-old.

“The fourth official told me: ‘I’m really sorry Mr Henry, but VAR isn’t working…”

In Spain on Sunday, Luis Suarez scored for Barcelona in the 3-1 win over Leganes, who were convinced the star forward fouled their goalkeeper with a high foot, which the VAR missed.

“A blow to the VAR” was the headline in Tuesday’s edition of Madrid sports daily AS.

While the VAR system is a feature in the French, Spanish, Italian and German leagues, it is yet to be used in England’s Premier League and made the headlines for the wrong reason when used in the English League Cup.

Earlier this month, Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino was “unhappy” with a decision that favoured his side as they beat Chelsea 1-0 in the semi-final first leg via a penalty awarded by VAR.

Harry Kane scored the only goal at Wembley after the referee relied on the video assistant, but it took more than 90 seconds to confirm Kane had been onside before he was fouled.

“I don’t like the VAR,” Pochettino told Sky Sports.

“We get the benefit of it but after watching the World Cup and another league like La Liga I see that nobody is happy from day one that they started to use it.”

Back in Germany, senior bosses are developing stricter protocols for communication between the referee and the video room, to hopefully speed up the decision-making process.

“For now, everyone still says what he thinks,” admitted Drees.

The Deloitte list ranked clubs on how much money they earn from broadcasting, commercial deals and match-day revenues during the 2017-18 season.

United had spent the last two years in first place in the financial charts, but they have slipped to third behind European champions Real and Spanish giants Barcelona.

Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Paris St Germain, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham make up the rest of the top 10.

Dan Jones, the report’s author and a partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “European football remains a bull market.

“We have seen Real Madrid shatter records, becoming the first club to break the three-quarters of a billion euro mark and claim a record twelfth Money League title in the process.”

After winning a third consecutive Champions League title, Real generated a record £674.6 million ($881.8 million), giving them the Money League top spot for the 12th time and the first since 2014-15.

All the British clubs were slightly affected by a three per cent year-on-year decline in the value of sterling against the euro.

United’s fall was influenced by their early exit from the Champions League in the last 16 last season and the remarkable growth in the Spanish duo’s commercial income.

While revenues at Old Trafford grew by only two per cent, they still earned £590 million last season and the latest forecasts suggest they should surge past £615 million this season.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham, the north Londoners making the top 10 for only the second time, all enjoyed healthy increases in their turnover.

Liverpool’s run to the Champions League saw their revenue increase by a massive £90.6 million, largely thanks to £222.6 million in broadcast earnings.

While the extended stay at the national stadium is starting to annoy fans, the Wembley effect helped Tottenham increase their matchday revenues by £26.5 million.

Arsenal saw their income fall by nearly £30 million and they dropped from sixth to ninth in the table, a slide that illustrates the importance of Champions League TV money to every big club’s bottom line.

Further down the table, Everton and West Ham hold on to their 17th and 20th placings, respectively, but Leicester and Southampton dropped out of the top 20 to 22nd and 23rd.

Newcastle, however, climbed to 19th, giving the Premier League nine teams in the top 20, one fewer than last year.

Taken together, the top 20 clubs, who all come from one of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues, earned £7.4 billion, up six per cent on last year.

Newly crowned Malaysia Masters winner Ratchanok Intanon extended her winning streak into the Indonesia Masters as her compatriots also had a successful day in Jakarta yesterday.

The world No 8, who upset three-time world champion Carolina Marin to successfully defend her title in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, prolonged her unbeaten record to 6-0 this year as she tamed Malaysian Sonia Cheah 21-15 21-14 in just 39 minutes.

The 23-year-old Ratchanok, seeded seventh in the tournament, will on Thursday face Thai No 4 Busanan Ongbamrunghan, who stunned world No 20 Cai Yanyan of China 21-13 21-14.

The in-form Ratchanok will be red-hot favourite – she hasn‘t lost a single game in her six matches in 2019 and has never lost to Busanan in five meetings.

Also joining them in round two was Thai No 2 Nitchanon Jindapol, who outclassed Egeniya Kosetskaya 21-9 21-9, but a tough time awaits Nitchaon on Thursday when she faces old rival He Bingjiao of China, the world No 7, who has a 3-0 record against her.

Later in the day, Thai No 3 Pornpawee Chochuwong shrugged off a poor start to beat Chloe Birch of ENgland 17-21 21-8 21-9.

On the men’s side, Thai No 1 Khosit Phetpradab suffered his third straight first-round exit, losing to Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus of Denmark 21-12 18-21 21-16.

Thai No 2 Kantaphon Wangcharoen fared better but had to dig deep to down compatriot Suppanyu Avihingsanon 21-15 20-22 21-15.

World No 40 Sitthikom Thammasin reached the second round for the second time this year, after the Thailand Masters, following a 21-11 21-19 win over Kazumasa Sakai of Japan.

In the mixed doubles, world No 5 Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai, after back-to-back finals at home and in Malaysia, continued their impressive form by beating Rehan  Kusharjanto and Siti Ramadhanti of Indonesia 21-18 21-17.

The women’s pairing of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai ousted Ashwini Ponnappa and Reddy N Sikki of India 21-14 21-14.

The 16-year-old, No 17 in the world junior rankings , became the second Thai junior to reach the quarter-final stage in a Grand Slam since Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in the 2009 US Open.

“I played according to my game plan and had a good momentum on court,” said Mananchaya, the 2018 Asian Games national player. “I had an early break in the first set and she lost her focus.”

“In the second set she started playing better but I managed a crucial break in the end,” added Mananchaya who will take on Daria Snigur of Ukraine in the last eights.

“I will try to keep up with this level. I will try not to let myself under pressure,” the teenager said.

Later in the day, Mananchaya and Thasaporn, second seeded, went down to Loudmilla Bencheikh of France and Francesca Curmi of Malta 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 10-7.

For any young aspirants who want to join this event are invited to visit www.honalpgathailand.com and click on the “APPLY NOW” button to access and submit the application.The application period ends on 31^st January. The names of the selected junior golfers will be announced on 4^thFebruary on Honda LPGA Thailand’s Facebook page

The American great had beaten world number one Simona Halep in the fourth round but folded against the big-serving Czech seventh seed, who saved four match points before winning 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 under the hot Melbourne sun.

It was a gut-wrenching defeat for the 37-year-old, who battled back from a set down and was leading 5-1 in the third and serving for the match, only to throw it away with some poor serving and wild shots as frustrations bubbled to the surface.

Since returning last year from giving birth, Williams has made four unsuccessful attempts to match Court’s record, and the wait continues with the French Open in May her next chance.

“She was playing very well. Especially at the end of the second set she went for her shots and she was aggressive,” said Pliskova after depriving Williams of a US Open final rematch with Osaka.

“I played too passive. I was almost in the locker-room but now I am standing here as a winner. It is a very good feeling.”

For Pliskova, it is only her third semi-final at a major.

She made the last four at Roland Garros in 2017 and the US Open a year earlier, where she beat Williams before losing the final to Angelique Kerber.

A focused Osaka brutally swept past Ukraine’s Svitolina, who was troubled by neck and shoulder problems, in her attempt to win back-to-back Grand Slams.

The Ukrainian needed a similar medical timeout during her third round match, but it was nevertheless a serious statement from the steely-eyed Osaka, who was playing the sort of tennis which drove her to the US Open title.

“I tried to be consistent, it’s unfortunate that she got injured but playing against her even when she was injured was still really tough,” said the usually bubbly 21-year-old, who was completely focused on court.

“I just had one goal, to try as hard I can and not get angry. I didn’t do that really well in the last two rounds and I did that today so I’m really happy with the way I played.”

The win ensured she became the first Japanese woman in the final four at Melbourne Park since Kimiko Date in 1994.

 

– Only positives –

 

Svitolina, who has failed to go further than the quarter-finals now four times at Grand Slams, said she had been feeling her injury throughout the tournament, but didn’t want to use it as an excuse.

“Unfortunately I couldn’t produce 100 percent the game that I wanted. But in the end, she was just playing better today,” she said.

Svitolina, who said her goal was to reach number one and win a Slam this year, added: “I don’t want to get down on myself. It’s only positives from here.”

Unseeded American Danielle Collins or two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova play the other semi-final.

Novak Djokovic resumes his quest for a record seventh Australian Open title later against Japanese marathon man Kei Nishikori.

The Serbian world number one admitted he “didn’t feel so great” after surviving a stiff four-set test in the last 16, and knows he has his work cut out against the Japanese star who has battled through three hard five-setters so far.

“He’s a very talented player. One of the quickest players on the tour. You know, hard worker. I have lots of respect for him,” said the Serbian world number one.

The winner will play big-serving Canadian 16th seed Milos Raonic or France’s 28th seed Lucas Pouille, who is now coached by former Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal have already secured their berths in the last four.

The Argentine striker, signed on Saturday from French club Nantes for a reported fee of 17 million euros ($19.3 million), was flying to Cardiff aboard the plane that disappeared from radar around 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the island of Guernsey on Monday night.

“I’m on a plane that looks like it’s going to fall apart, and I’m leaving for Cardiff,” Sala said in a WhatsApp audio message carried by Argentine media.

“If in an hour and a half you have no news from me, I don’t know if they will send people to look for me, because they will not find me, you know. Dad, I’m so scared,” he added.

Sala is missing presumed dead after the single-engine Piper PA-46 Malibu aircraft disappeared.

A 15-hour search Tuesday covering a 1,155 square-mile (3,000 square-kilometre) area in the Channel spotted “a number of floating objects in the water”, Guernsey police said.

“We have found no signs of those on board. If they did land on the water, the chances of survival are at this stage, unfortunately, slim,” police said.

The search was set to resume at sunrise Wednesday.

French civil aviation authorities had confirmed that 28-year-old Sala “was on board the plane”. It is thought there was one other passenger on the aircraft.

Police on Guernsey, which sits just off the north coast of France, said the pilot had requested to lower his altitude shortly before air traffic control in neighbouring Jersey lost contact with the plane.

– ‘Fearing the worst’ –

One of the rescuers searching for the missing plane earlier admitted they were “fearing the worst”, thoughts echoed by Sala’s father Horacio.

“Sadly we are fearing the worst… the sea temperature is so cold at the moment,” John Fitzgerald, chief officer of Channel Islands Air Search, told AFP.

A tearful Horacio Sala told the press in Progreso, where the player’s family lives, that as “the hours go by and I don’t know anything, it makes me fear the worst”.

“I don’t know anything. Nobody spoke to me, not a call from the embassy, the club, nobody,” he said. “All I want is for you to find him.”

The player’s mother, Mercedes, claimed in an interview with Argentine television channel C5N that the plane belonged to Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman.

Sala, who had been at Nantes since 2015 and had scored 13 goals in all competitions this season, had signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with relegation-threatened Cardiff subject to receiving international clearance.

“We were very shocked upon hearing the news that the plane had gone missing. We expected Emiliano to arrive last night into Cardiff and today was due to be his first day with the team,” the Premier League club’s executive director Ken Choo said in a statement.

“We continue to pray for positive news.”

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona expressed sadness but said he was hoping the plane had simply gone astray.

“I hope it went to the wrong airport and we find him alive, that’s all,” he said in an audio message on the Instagram account of journalist Martin Arevalo.

“It’s a terrible misfortune when such things happen.”

Cardiff called off a training session planned for Tuesday, and stunned supporters gathered outside the club’s ground to lay flowers and scarves.

With his former teammates in shock, Nantes had their French Cup tie against third-tier side Entente Sannois Saint-Gratien postponed from Wednesday until Sunday.

– Fans hold vigil –

Meanwhile, hundreds of fans of his former team gathered for a vigil in the western French city on Tuesday evening, placing flowers, scarves and flags on the water fountain and chanting the striker’s name at Place Royale.

“I still have hope, he is a fighter,” said Nantes president Waldemar Kita in a tweet published by the Ligue 1 club.

When he put pen to paper at relegation-threatened Cardiff on Saturday, Sala, who also has Italian nationality, said in a statement: “I’m very happy to be here. It gives me great pleasure and I can’t wait to start training, meet my new team-mates and get down to work.

“For me it feels special (to be the club’s record signing). I have come here wanting to work and to help my team-mates and the club.”

Sala’s last post on Instagram showed him surrounded by players from Nantes. “La ultima ciao (the last goodbye),” he wrote.

Sala began his footballing career at French club Bordeaux, who he joined in 2010, and had loan spells at other French clubs including Orleans, Niort and Caen.

He joined Nantes in 2015 for one million euros and had scored 42 Ligue 1 goals in three and a half seasons at the Stade de la Beaujoire.

In attendance was Mr. Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, Mr. Michael Ziemer, Vice President for Hotels and Food and Beverage at City of Dreams Manila, reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje Eustaquio, and former ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes.

Also in attendance were some of the athletes set to compete at ONE: HERO’S ASCENT, which emanates from the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila on Friday, 25 January. Athletes included Honorio “The Rock” Banario, Lowen Tynanes, Danny “The King” Kingad, Tatsumitsu “The Sweeper” Wada, Fahdi “The Gladiator” Khaled, and Rodtang “Iron Man” Jitmuangnon.

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: 

“ONE Championship was built by a martial artist, for martial artists. I understand the athletes and what they go through each andeveryday. I am very proud to be standing here alongside them as their CEO and Chairman. When I look at this card and these incredible athletes, I am so fired up. This is going to be an amazing evening. As the world’s largest stage of martial arts competition, all ONE Championship wants to do is showcase the very best. See you all at the Mall of Asia Arena this Friday night.”

Geje Eustaquio, ONE Flyweight World Champion, stated:

“15 years ago I made the biggest decision of my life to pursue martial arts. No one believed that I would be standing here in front you all as a World Champion. But now, I have learned throughout my career and my training that the word impossible doesn’t exist. With the help of my coach and my team, we have achieved success. If I listened to those who were saying I wouldn’t make it, I would not be standing here in front of you all today. This Friday night, me and Adriano [Moraes] will make history in the first ever trilogy bout in ONE Championship. I invite you all to come and watch.”

Adriano Moraes, former ONE Flyweight World Champion, stated:

“I would like to say first thank you to ONE Championship for the opportunity. The Adriano that fought Geje in the last match, I can say with confidence that it wasn’t me. I wasn’t myself in that bout. This time, I have prepared very well for this third bout. Whatever happens, I am ready to give my best. This is going to be a good fight. I am looking forward to it.”