Miami Gardens: Naomi Osaka's eyes welled with tears when her match ended, an all-too-familiar scene for her in recent years.
These were of the happy variety.
For the former world No 1, that's major progress.
The unseeded Osaka defeated No 22 Belinda Bencic 4-6 6-3 6-4 on Thursday in the Miami Open semifinals. She's in a championship match for the first time since the 2021 Australian Open, and will meet either No 16 Jessica Pegula or No 2 Iga Swiatek on Saturday.
"Damn, I'm almost crying," Osaka said.
Maybe not even almost. She hid her face in an orange towel a few times right after the match ended, at least one tear clearly making its way down her right cheek. Osaka entered this tournament ranked No 77 in the world, will leave Miami no worse than 36th and would be back in the top 30 if she wins the title.
It has been a long, trying and often emotional ride for Osaka since her win in the 2018 US Open final over Serena Williams. She was rattled during a loss at Indian Wells on March 12 following a derogatory shout from a spectator, withdrew from last year's French Open to address her mental state and left last year's US Open in tears.
But in South Florida, one of the places she considers home, it's been all support from the fans. Pegula and Swiatek who will replace the now-retired Ashleigh Barty as the No 1-ranked women's player in the world next week were meeting in the other women's semifinal on Thursday night.