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Match Details
Fixture: (6) Zheng Qinwen vs (WC) Naomi Osaka
Tournament: ecotrans Ladies Open 2024
Round: First Round (Round of 32)
Venue: Rot-Weiss Tennis Club, Berlin, Germany
Category: WTA 500
Surface: Grass
Prize Money: $922,573
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports
Zheng Qinwen vs Naomi Osaka preview
World No. 8 Zheng Qinwen will take on four-time Major champion Naomi Osaka in the first round of the 2024 ecotrans Ladies Open.
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Zheng capitalized on a wide-open draw at the Australian Open to reach her maiden Major final, eventually losing to defending champion Aryna Sabalenka. Her next best result was a quarterfinal showing at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The 21-year-old struggled in her next few tournaments as she failed to string together consecutive victories. She ended her skid of poor results at the Italian Open, where she lost to Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.
Zheng secured straight-set wins over Alize Cornet and Tamara Korpatsch to commence her French Open campaign without a fuss. She was favored to win against Elina Avanesyan in the third round as well but lost to her in three sets.
Osaka's return from maternity leave was off to a tough start as she tallied only one win across her first three tournaments. She was back to her winning ways at the Qatar Open, where she made the quarterfinals. She next reached the third round of the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open.
A fourth-round showing at the Italian Open marked Osaka's best result on the clay swing. She almost ousted defending champion Swiatek in the second round of the French Open. However, the Pole saved a match point in a thrilling three-set win.
Osaka kicked off her grass swing at the Libema Open. She knocked out Elise Mertens and Suzan Lamens before going down to Bianca Andreescu in a hard-fought three-set tussle.
Zheng Qinwen vs Naomi Osaka head-to-head
The two have split their previous couple of meetings evenly to tie the head-to-head at 1-1. Zheng won their most recent encounter at the 2024 Italian Open in straight sets.
Zheng Qinwen vs Naomi Osaka odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Zheng Qinwen vs Naomi Osaka prediction
Zheng hasn't backed up her runner-up finish at the Australian Open with another deep run. She has been inconsistent since then, with a couple of good results here and there.
Osaka competed in her first grass court tournament in five years at the Libema Open. She was down a set against Andreescu in the quarterfinals and then trailed 5-2 in the third set. She managed to take the match to a tie-break but fell shy of a comeback.
Osaka has displayed the ability to go toe-to-toe with her opponents, though her return of serve has let her down, along with a case of nerves in crucial moments. She lost handily to Zheng when they crossed paths in Rome last month.
However, the Chinese is on a four-match losing streak on grass, having not won a match on the surface last year. In fact, she has a 2-6 career record on it. Given Zheng's status as a novice on grass, Osaka will be favored to come through this clash.
Pick: Naomi Osaka to win in three sets.
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