An interesting final is in store at the WTA Japan Open Tennis Championships where top seed Zhu Lin will square off against American teenager Ashlyn Krueger. Both players were a step ahead of the rest of the field, but only one will lift the title on Sunday. Lin has been to a WTA final this season, bagging the title in Hua Hin in February. Krueger, for her part, will play in her first Tour-level final. With a place in the world’s Top 100 secured for the first time, can the upstart put the cherry on top of a perfect week so far in Osaka?
WTA Osaka Final Prediction
Zhu Lin vs Ashlyn Krueger
Head-to-head: first meeting
Zhu cemented her spot as China’s #2 player in a straight shootout against her compatriot Xinyu Wang. It wasn’t a one-sided straight sets win for the 29-year-old who was pegged back on multiple occasions from a winning position. Momentum ebbed and flowed, but Lin’s ability to pull off spiky backhand winners down the line was a game-changer. Wang did her best to stay in the rallies, but her more experienced countrywoman found that point-ending shot when it mattered to win 7-5, 7-6 in just over two hours.
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Krueger, meanwhile, will contest her first-ever WTA final in Osaka. The 19-year-old is the latest in a long line of newcomers this season to reach the business end of a Tour-level tournament. And she’d done it with the confidence and verve of a veteran. With renowned coach Michael Joyce in her corner, the young American powered through the draw without dropping a set.
Krueger’s dominance from the baseline is attributed to her formidable serve – broken just four times during the week. Bundled with an all-court game, Krueger is versatile for a player standing at 6’1” and is physically imposing from the back of the court. And with the way she’s fizzing in confidence, there is a solid chance she’ll topple the higher-ranked Lin.
Prediction: Krueger in 3
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
