India, Sept. 4 -- Two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka said that her "dream is coming true" as she returned to the semi-finals in New York with victory over Karolina Muchova. A major milestone for Osaka has been getting back to the last four of a major. She did not play for 14 months around the birth of daughter Shai in July 2023.

"It's my first time in a semi now [since becoming a mother]," Osaka said, BBC reported. "I was sitting up there watching and hoping I could have the opportunity to play on this court again. This is like my dream is coming true."

Osaka is of Japanese descent, her parents Leonard Francois and Tamaki Osaka having met in Japan when Francois was visiting in the 90s. At the time, Leonard was in college and Tamaki w...