Australian Open 2022: Naomi Osaka vs Madison Brengle preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (13) Naomi Osaka vs Madison Brengle.

Date: 19 January 2022.

Tournament: Australian Open 2022.

Round: Second round (Round of 64).

Venue: Melbourne, Australia.

Category: Grand Slam.

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.

Prize money: $75,000,000.

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv.

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Naomi Osaka vs Madison Brengle preview

Osaka at the 2022 Australian Open.

13th seed Naomi Osaka will square off against American Madison Brengle in the second round of the 2022 Australian Open on Wednesday.

Osaka started her title defense with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Camila Osorio. The 24-year old played decently, but against a more experienced player in Brengle, her current level won't be enough.

She was 5-0 up in the opening set, but got broken while serving for the set the first time. She almost lost serve a second time as well, but dug herself out of a 15-40 hole to close out the set 6-3.

Osaka faced a couple of break points during her first service game of the second set as well, but managed to hold on. She played better after that and closed out the match without much fuss. The defending champion needs to step up her game going forward, having recorded 19 winners and 28 unforced errors against Osorio.

Brengle at the 2022 Australian Open.

Meanwhile, Madison Brengle defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-1, 0-6, 5-0 ret. in the opening round of the 2022 Australian Open. The American had almost won the match regardless, but her opponent retired in the closing stages to confirm the result in advance.

Brengle's best Grand Slam result has been a fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open in 2015. The 31-year old will aim to replicate that success once more.

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Naomi Osaka vs Madison Brengle head-to-head

The two have played once before, but on the ITF circuit, with Brengle leading 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won that encounter 6-2, 6-2 way back in 2013.

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Naomi Osaka vs Madison Brengle prediction

Osaka at a practice session.

Osaka enters this encounter as the favorite to win given her more illustrious resume. The defending champion was a little rough around the edges in her first match, but she often gets better as the tournament progresses.

But Brengle is a difficult opponent to face at times. She's quite scrappy and often engages in long battles in an attempt to outlast her opponents. The 31-year-old uses her counterpunching skills effectively to trouble hard-hitters like Osaka. The defending champion will need to recalibrate her game slightly to handle her next opponent.

Osaka was quite decent in all aspects of her game in her first round match, but to win the title, she'll need to be at her very best. Brengle will certainly be a challenging opponent for her, but she is likely to find a way to move past the American.

Prediction: Naomi Osaka to win in straight sets.