Naomi Osaka was the favourite going in to her home tournament this week at WTA Osaka, but she was forced to withdraw before her quarterfinal match and we will now have a first ever matchup between Leylah Fernandez and Tereza Valentova for the title in Japan’s second biggest city. Given the level both have shown so far this week, this is sure to be quite an exciting final, as well as one with a very unpredictable outcome.
WTA Osaka Final Prediction
Leylah Fernandez vs Tereza Valentova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Fernandez has never really manager to deliver on the promise she showed back at the 2021 US Open, but she has at least established herself as a solid top 40 player and won the biggest title of her career so far this year in Washington. After a very good run to the final this week, she will now have the opportunity to win multiple titles in a single year for the first time in her career but she will face very stern opposition from Valentova, who, at the age of 18, has already established herself as one of the most promosing players on tour.
She will be playing her first ever WTA level final here so nerves might be an issue here but with the level she showed all throughout the week, starting from qualifying and featuring some very tough three set battles against higher ranked opponents in the quarterfinals and the semifinals, she certainly has a very good chance here and will at least make it a competitive affair.
It should be a very close match overall, decided by small details and by who holds their nerve and executes better on the most important points, but perhaps at this point in their respective careers Fernandez’s superior tour level experience will give her the slight edge.
Prediction: Fernandez in 3
Main photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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