Episode 37: Naomi Osaka sets up US Open 2018 final against Serena Williams, India play England in the fifth Test at the Oval and more on daily podcast

Welcome to Spodcast, the daily sports update on Firstpost.  

Serena Williams defeated Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia to reach her ninth US Open final. Williams took just 66 minutes to win the semi-final 6-3, 6-0. Williams said after the match, “It's honestly really incredible…A year ago I was fighting for my life in the hospital after I had the baby.” She battled life-threatening blood clots after a difficult delivery. She also added, “…every time I step out on this court I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to play this sport. To come this far so fast. I'm really looking forward to the possibilities.” Sevastova, who had beaten defending champion Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals, said, “I shouldn't have gotten broken twice in the first set…When she's in front it's tough to play…when somebody serves 123 miles per hour ace there's not much you can do."

20-year-old Naomi Osaka won her semi-final against Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4 to enter her first Grand Slam final. Osaka fought off 13 breakpoint opportunities that Keys created and won three breakpoints. Keys said, “every time I had a break point, it was an ace or a winner or something like that.” Osaka said, “It still feels really weird because I’ve never beaten Madison before…she’s a really good player.” She broke Keys’ serve early in the second set and eventually took it 6-4.

Osaka will face six-time champion Serena Williams in the final on Saturday.

The fifth Test match between India and England begins today at The Oval in London. England have named an unchanged squad for this match. Jonny Bairstow, who broke a finger in the Third Test, will be England’s wicketkeeper in the fifth test. In the fourth Test of the series, Jos Buttler had performed wicket-keeping duties while Bairstow had played as a specialist batsman. England won that match to take the series 3-1.

An unchanged squad means Moeen Ali will retain his place in the side, and might even bat at number three. The final match in this Test series will also be Alastair Cook’s final Test match as an England player.

An update on the Indian shooters competing at the 52nd ISSF Championships in South Korea. Saurabh Chaudhary won the gold in the junior 10m air pistol event. 16-year-old Chaudhary, who won a gold at the Asian Games in August, qualified third with a score of 581. He then bested his own world record with a new high score of 245.5 in the final. He had set a world record in the 10m air pistol event at the ISSF Junior World Cup in June. Hojin Lim of South Korea won the silver with a final score of 243.1.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Verma missed out on an Olympic quota after finishing in eighth place in the senior competition of the ISSF World Championship. Verma, who had won a bronze at the Asiad, qualified third in the men’s 10m air pistol event. However, he ended with a final score of 118. Korea's Jin Jongoh, who scored 241.5 points, claimed gold after defeating Russian athlete Artem Chernousov in a shoot-off.

India’s senior shooters won a silver medal in the team event. Abhishek Verma, Om Prakash Mitharwal, who won the 50m pistol gold, and Shahzar Rizvi scored a total of 1,738 points in men's 10m air pistol to win the silver in the team event. The junior shooters continued to have a good time at the championships. India won the silver in the junior men's trap team competition with Aman Ali Elahi, Vivaan Kapoor and Manavaditya Singh Rathore shooting a combined 348 points. They finished second behind Australia.

India are third in the medals tally behind Korea and Russia, with four gold, six silver and four bronze. Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela are the only Indian shooters to have secured quota places for the 2020 Olympics so far.

An update on India’s Davis Cup campaign. India's captain Mahesh Bhupathi defended the selection of N Sriram Balaji as a replacement for Divij Sharan, who pulled out after a tear in his serving shoulder. Balaji was chosen ahead of higher-ranked doubles players Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja for the tie against Serbia. Balaji is ranked 110 in doubles in the world, while Jeevan and Purav are ranked 88 and 89 respectively.

The All India Tennis Association usually picks players based on rankings. This time around, however, it was forced to pick replacements after Sharan and Bhambri pulled out due to their injuries. Saketh Myneni replaces Yuki Bhambri who is nursing a knee injury.

Bhupathi said, “I wanted a balanced team. We have a lefty in Prajnesh already and I wanted someone who can serve big as well.” He added, "There is no doubles versus singles in Davis Cup. You always factor the opposition, surface, conditions and combinations. If you just go down the ranking as a compliance exercise every time, I don't think we can achieve the right combination of players to try and win the tie."

AITA selection committee chairperson SP Misra said the decision was based entirely on the recommendation of the non-playing captain. “Rohan Bopanna and Balaji had played an excellent match against Uzbekistan (in Bengaluru, in April 2017). Their combination was good, so on captain's advice, we picked Balaji,” said Misra.

An update on football, and FC Pune City striker Iain Hume says his current knee injury, which has kept him out of action since February, is worse than the fractured cranium and internal bleeding he suffered a decade ago.

Speaking about the knee injury, Hume said, “…with this one, there’s no way of rushing back, or there’s no way of cutting corners, or there’s no way of getting on the field with a little bit of pain like I did with my head injury…I have a timeline, and I have to stick to it…I need to make sure there’s no setback. We’re making sure we’re leaving no stone unturned as far as my recovery goes.”

The injury has cost him his spot in the Kerala Blasters team. Hume got injured in February and spent the next few months recuperating in Kochi. The club ended its contract with Hume after realizing that he would most certainly miss a part of the 2018 season of the Indian Super League.

The ISL starts 29 September and ends mid-December.

Hume says, “When I had the head injury, I was back in training in just three months: It happened in November, I was back training with the team by February. My legs and my body were fine.” That injury occurred in November 2008 when Sheffield United defender Chris Morgan caught Barnsley player Hume with an elbow while defending a long ball.

Hume has found a new home in FC Pune City. He says, “FC Pune City came in at the stage when I found I couldn’t play with Kerala and I am grateful for that. Because of the conversations I have had with them so far, it was an easy decision for me to make after what happened with Kerala.” Once he is back to full fitness, he will be part of a team that has players like Marcelinho and Emiliano Alfaro besides India’s Robin Singh.

Kerala Blasters was a club where he became a fan favorite, more so than even players like former England goalkeeper David James. Fans referred to him as Humettan, which means brother in Malayalam. Hume says, “I have a great relationship with the Kerala fans, always have and always will. The feeling is mutual… I will always have a spot in my heart for the city, the state, the fans and the club. But it is football. We move on, no doubt they’ve moved on.”