Kaia Kanepi vs Naomi Osaka
August 9, 2022 2:00 pm EDT
The Line: Naomi Osaka / Kaia Kanepi
(Get latest betting odds)
Kaia Kanepi and Naomi Osaka meet in the first round of the 2022 tennis National Bank Open.
Kaia Kanepi is coming off a final loss in Washington, where she lost to Liudmila Samsonova in 3 sets. In a disappointing result, Kanepi was broken 3 times and won just 24 percent of her return points. Kanepi now has a quick turnaround, and it will be interesting to see how much she has left in the tank given that she’s 37 years old. Kanepi is playing some solid tennis overall with wins in 5 of her last 8 matches and 3 of her last 4 matches have gone the distance. Kanepi has lost her opening match 3 times since Indian Wells. Kanepi has won 7 of his last 10 matches on hard court.
Naomi Osaka is coming off a second round loss in San Jose, where she lost to Coco Gauff in straight sets. In the losing effort, Osaka was broken 3 times and won 32 percent of her return points. It continues to be a weird year for Osaka, as she’s not piling up the wins like we’re used to seeing, and she’s actually lost 4 of her last 6 matches. Of course, Osaka hasn’t played a consistent schedule, and I’m sure that doesn’t help her find a rhythm. Osaka has lost 7 of her last 9 sets overall, and her last 5 losses have been decided in straight sets. Osaka has lost her opening match twice since Rome of last year. Osaka has won 6 of his last 8 matches on hard court.
Kanepi won the only match against Osaka, which was in the 2017 US Open. The match was decided in 3 sets and 29 games.
Kanepi is easily in better form, and she’ll have the confidence knowing she beat Osaka in the only meeting. With that said, I do have concerns about Kanepi and possible fatigue. She worked hard in Washington, lost her title shot, and now has a quick turnaround against a dangerous player. At some point Osaka will piece things together and this is a match she should have the edge with the rest advantage.
Give me Osaka for a much-needed victory.
