Naomi Osaka is making a comeback to tennis, and it will be against a very tricky player Tamara Korpatsch at the 2024 Brisbane International.
So, what can we expect from this matchup? Well, if they played together, we might hear something from the German on social media. She's probably best known for the Wimbledon fiasco a few years ago when she went back and forth with a player on social media.
In the meantime, she became a pretty solid player who will beat you if you give her the chance. As for Osaka, well, she didn't play much lately. At least not on the tennis court. She became a mother and did many business things, but only recently did she start to get back into tennis.
She's motivated ahead of this comeback, and that's basically all you need to know. When Osaka is motivated, she's one of the best players in the world.
There is no denying that she didn't play for a long time and that she might be rusty, but Korpatsch has no business winning this one if Osaka plays anything remotely resembling her general level.
Obviously, this is the first time they're playing because Korpastsch doesn't generally play these strongest events often. When she does, it's generally on clay, which is her strongest surface. Another reason they haven't played is that Osaka didn't play this year, which has been one of the better ones for Korpatsch.
So, this is a pretty straightforward one. On one side, we have Osaka, who hasn't played at all in 2023 but should be good enough to handle a player who doesn't generally play her best on hard courts.
The German's 2023 record on hard is 10-14, which isn't that great, and on the faster ones in Brisbane, it looks pretty grim.
The key advantage for Osaka is her ball-striking but also her serve. It's the main weapon she'll rely on during this Australian Open stretch.
Prediction: Naomi Osaka to win in three sets.