Serena Williams in tears after Aus Open loss: It was a big error day

Serena Williams gets emotional at a press conference after losing her semi-final against Naomi Osaka on Thursday. Pics/AFP

Serena Williams broke down in tears and cut short her post-match press conference after another failed bid to equal Margaret Court's record Grand Slam haul, calling her defeat to Naomi Osaka "a big error day".

The veteran American's quest to reach a ninth Australian Open final and match Court's 24 major singles titles ended in a 3-6, 4-6 semi-final mauling by the Japanese third seed. Williams, 39, broke early for a 2-0 lead before Osaka reeled off five straight games to leave her shellshocked.

Naomi Osaka

"The difference today was errors. I made so many errors," said the 23-time Grand Slam champion. "Honestly, it was opportunities where I could have won. I could have been up 5-0. It was a big error day for me." Pressed on what caused her to make so many mistakes, tears began to flow as she told reporters: "I don't know. I'm done," before walking out.

In a clash of power games, it was Osaka who had the edge, hitting 20 winners to Williams's 12, while also committing three fewer unforced errors on 21. Williams said she had been hitting well all tournament and had no explanation for the loss other than "too many mistakes there, easy mistakes".

Osaka's victory left her still stranded on 23 Grand Slam crowns, one short of Court's tally, with her last major title coming in Melbourne four years ago when she was pregnant.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever