Miami Open: Naomi Osaka vs. Ajla Tomljanovic 3/25/21 Tennis Prediction

Second seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan faces unseeded Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the Second Round of the 2021 Miami Open. The match is scheduled to be played on Thursday March 25th, 2021 at a time yet to be determined. 

This seems like a mismatch on paper, but is a potentially difficult first match for the Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka. Ajla Tomljanovic is an accomplished player that is capable of fantastic tennis at times. Can she cause the upset or will Osaka win here and advance at the 2021 Miami Open?

Naomi Osaka has had a great 2021 season so far, winning the Australian Open in dominant fashion. She displayed ultra-attacking tennis from the baseline and she is clearly the best player in the world at the moment. If it wasn’t for the ranking freeze due to COVID-19, she would have reclaimed her number one ranking from Ashleigh Barty. She will be highly motivated here, and has seemingly taken her game to a new level this season. While she has never won the title here in Miami, she is considered the strong favorite for the title and it is hard to see anyone stopping her here. A bit of rust is to be expected since she hasn’t competed since her Grand Slam win, but she is talented and experienced enough to figure it out and enters this match as the overwhelming favorite. 

Ajla Tomljanic is currently ranked #77 in the world rankings, but has been in the top 40 before. A very aggressive baseliner like her opponent, she likes to take the ball early to take time away from her opponents. Against the highly favored Osaka, it is unlikely that she will be afforded the opportunity to apply this tactic, and it will be interesting to see how she copes with her opponents’ power. She enters this match as the huge underdog and knows that she will have to play fantastic tennis to make this a contest. She was outstanding in her First Round win over Anastasia Potapova, and will hope to carry some of that momentum over into this encounter. 

This match will have only one outcome, and that is a straight sets win for Naomi Osaka. While her opponent is a good player, she simply does not have the tools to bother the Japanese superstar and she will cruise here. Naomi Osaka to win in straight sets.