Naomi Osaka is back to winning ways, and for the third time this year, she'll take on Caroline Garcia in a tennis match.
Osaka has finally figured her tennis out, and she's back to winning ways. After winning a few matches in Indian Wells, the Japanese player also won at the 2024 Miami Open, beating Elina Svitolina in the previous round.
She's looking better and better and more confident with each win. Being in Miami, a place that she knows very well, certainly helps, and her service being largely on point is not a minus either.
Up next for her is a player she's seen many times this year—almost too many. This will be her third time playing against Caroline Garcia this year, and she's going to try to earn her second victory.
While they have played three matches so far, we're going to focus on the last two because they happened this year. The first one was at the Australian Open, and the French player prevailed in a pretty close match.
The second meeting happened in Doha, and Osaka prevailed in a pretty close match. Both matches could have gone either way, but there was a trend observed.
Osaka looked much better in the second match and cruised through it. If we go by that, then it's largely expected that she will win this upcoming one as well, but will she?
| Naomi Osaka | Caroline Garcia | |
| 2 | H2H | 1 |
| 229 | Rank | 27 |
| 26 | Age | 30 |
| 7-5 | 2024 W/L | 7-7 |
| 272-153 | Career W/L | 458-346 |
I think she will because the courts in Miami play pretty well for her. She likes to attack and finish rallies quickly, and she'll be rewarded for that approach. If she can find her serve as well, then she will limit Garcia's chances.
The French player has a similar style to Osaka, so there is always a chance that she flips the script on the Japanese player, but I'll trust the former world no. 1 to get it done.
Prediction: Naomi Osaka to win in two sets.