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TORONTO — Serena Williams advanced to the Rogers Cup semifinals Friday night, beating the soon-to-be-top-ranked Naomi Osaka, 6-3, 6-4, at breezy York University.
Playing in her first event since losing the Wimbledon final, Williams will face the winner of the late match between fourth-seeded Simona Halep and the qualifier Marie Bouzkova.
Williams, 37, ranked 10th and seeded eighth, won the event in 2001, 2011 and 2013 — all in Toronto — and has a tournament-record 33 victories in 37 matches. She won the last of her 72 singles titles in the 2017 Australian Open.