Naomi Osaka had no issues in her first match at the 2024 Miami Open, and in the second round, she will take on fellow mom Elina Svitolina.
Osaka has been trending positively ever since the Middle Eastern stretch where she won a couple of matches in Doha. The Indian Wells Open was a pretty solid run for the most part.
She didn't play that well against Elise Mertens, but she looks better in every match she plays. The first match in Miami was a pretty solid outing against a tricky player as well, so she looks good.
She'll need to be if she hopes to best Svitolina, who is a very good player. The Ukranian isn't playing on the same level she had last year but she's always going to be dangerous.
Osaka and Svitolina have played a handful of times so far, so they're quite familiar with each other. The H2H right now is 3-3, but the most important thing about all of those matches is the date. They were all played before 2020, so it's been a long time since then.
A lot has happened in Osaka and Svitolina's careers, so we have to look at their recent play to get an idea of what might happen.
| Naomi Osaka | Elina Svitolina | |
| 3 | H2H | 3 |
| 229 | Rank | 17 |
| 26 | Age | 29 |
| 6-5 | 2024 W/L | 10-4 |
| 271-153 | Career W/L | 464-244 |
Svitolina has a 10-4 record this year, which is pretty impressive. She started the year well, and right now, she still looks good for a very competitive match, and I think she'll cause Osaka some trouble.
The Japanese player didn't start well but has looked good in the past few matches. Her combination of skills works really well in Miami, and I really do fancy her chances here. I think her serve can be deadly if she finds it regularly.
Prediction: Naomi Osaka to win in three sets.