Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka headlines quarterfinal action at the WTA Bad Homburg Open. The Japanese is hunting a rare semifinal spot in a grass-court tournament for the first time in nearly a decade. Who will reach the last four?<\/p>\n
Head-to-head: Navarro 3-0 Ruse<\/p>\n
Navarro earned a massive win<\/a> over Wimbledon<\/a> champion Iga Swiatek. It’s been a near-perfect start to the grass swing for the American who has now picked up six wins from eight matches. Ruse has enjoyed a fine run of her own, coming through qualifying and knocking out Berlin champion Linda Noskova and World No. 20 Anna Kalinskaya. I expected Navarro to hit a wall at some stage after her run to the Eastbourne final, where she played the longest WTA match of the season. Will the physical demands of another deep run eventually catch up with her? It hasn’t been the case so far, but it will be tough to ignore the mileage as she continues to accumulate extra playing time this week. Head-to-head: Svitolina 2-0 Wang<\/p>\n Wang’s willingness to play on the front foot is probably one of the reasons why she has won nine grass-court matches since last year. She has compiled a 9-4 record and won two matches in Bad Homburg without dropping a set. Svitolina’s defensive qualities and experience mean she remains one of the toughest players to consistently hit through. But given Wang’s noticeable improvement on grass, Svitolina may have to weather some uncomfortable moments before finding a way through, just like she did against Samsonova. Head-to-head: Tauson 1-0 Muchova<\/p>\n Muchova cruised past Irina-Camelia Begu 6-1 6-1 in 59 minutes to reach the quarterfinals of the Bad Homburg Open on her debut. The victory guarantees Muchova a return to the Top 10 at the expense of fellow Czech Linda Noskova, whose stint there is short-lived. Before this week, Tauson’s form looked horrendous. But she has turned things around with wins over Diana Shnaider and Qinwen Zheng. Her form was mostly impacted by injuries rathen than her tennis. So, it’s nice to witness this revival taking shape. Still, Muchova offers too many different looks and is unlikely to let Tauson settle into any rhythm. The Czech should thrive in this matchup. <\/p>\n Head-to-head: first meeting<\/p>\n
\nPrediction: Ruse in 3<\/em><\/p>\nElina Svitolina vs Xinyu Wang<\/h4>\n
\nPrediction: Svitolina in 3<\/em><\/p>\nKarolina Muchova vs Clara Tauson<\/h4>\n
\nPrediction: Muchova in 2<\/em><\/p>\nNaomi Osaka vs Ekaterina Alexandrova<\/h4>\n