Naomi Osaka will try to earn her third consecutive win on clay against Daria Kasatkina, as they will meet at the 2024 Italian Open in Rome.
Osaka has won two consecutive matches on clay for the first time in many years. Both victories came at the Italian Open, where she found a really nice swinging rhythm and overwhelmed her opponents from the baseline.
Kasatkina is her next opponent, and she's going to be a tricky challenge for the former world no. 1. Not only is the Russian really solid on clay, but she also commands the court exceptionally well and can handle her opponents' power decently.
She doesn't bring much power herself, but she can certainly create problems with her craftiness.
Head-to-head:
Osaka and Kasatkina have actually played once before, at the 2018 Indian Wells, when Osaka beat the Russian in the final. A lack of matches recently isn't strange because the Japanese player hasn't been that active, but it complicates predicting this matchup.
Osaka is not the same player she was years ago, and Kasatkina certainly improved. She's a borderliner Finals-worthy player with a 19-10 record this year.
Her clay prowess certainly makes this match interesting because it's going to be a proper test for Osaka and whether she can really challenge the top names on the surface.
| Naomi Osaka | Daria Kasatkina | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | H2H | 0 |
| 173 | Rank | 11 |
| 26 | Age | 27 |
| 11-8 | 2024 W/L | 19-10 |
| 276-156 | Career W/L | 363-204 |
Prediction:
I think this match will be quite interesting because I could see Osaka finding ways to beat Kasatkina. It will mostly depend on how she hits the ball because she will need to hit through the Russian.
I don't see her slicing her way to victory because that's not her game. Kasatkina will try to put a lot of balls back into the court and live with whatever Osaka cooks up on the other side of the net.
Prediction: Naomi Osaka to win in three sets.
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