The Toray Pan Pacific Open has moved from Tokyo to Osaka this year. Yes, Naomi Osaka is in the draw and take a guess which she city she was born in. The first four seeds have a first-round bye.
WTA Osaka Day 1 Predictions
Zarina Diyas vs Monica Puig
Head-to-head: Puig 2-0
The Puerto Rican has an obvious advantage of power, but she hasn’t played well in weeks now. Diyas usually performs her best in the Asian swing and showed some premise in her first round US Open loss to Barty. This might be a good chance for the Kazakh to get her first head-to-head win over Puig.
Prediction: Diyas in 3
Camila Giorgi vs Xinyun Han
Head-to-head: First meeting
The Italian is a ballbasher of the highest sort, but when she’s on, Giorgi is a nightmare to play against. Aside from two terrible losses to Maria Sakkari, she has been playing well in recent months (reached the finals in Washington and the Bronx). The Chinese qualifier is a player of a slightly lower calibre and shouldn’t be able to hurt Giorgi in any way.
Prediction: Giorgi in 2
Dayana Yastremska vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Head-to-head: First meeting
One thing is certain in this first time clash between Yastremska and Pavlyuchenkova. Balls will be hit hard. The Russian has been slowly regaining confidence after some health issues she’s been through, but it’s Yastremska who’s been playing superior tennis this season and should be ready this challenge.
Prediction: Yastremska in 3
Anastasija Sevastova vs Elise Mertens
Head-to-head: Sevastova 2-0
These women have already played two highly interesting matches between them. None of them was on hard courts though, which is arguably the best surface for both. Sevastova failed to defend her US Open semifinal points and with the confidence advantage over Mertens, she will be hungry for a good result. It’s a must watch for any fans of clean baseline ball-striking.
Prediction: Sevastova in 3
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