Naomi Osaka and Iga Swiatek
The summit clash of women’s singles at the Miami Open 2022 will witness 4-time Grand Slam Champion Naomi Osaka take on 2nd seed Iga Swiatek
Naomi Osaka is back in the mix and in some style! The 4-time Grand Slam Champion has entered the tournament as an unseeded player due to her drop in rankings after the 3-month long break from tennis. Osaka has certainly shown her class in this tournament having won five matches without dropping a single set until her semi-final clash against Belinda Bencic.
The Japanese star defeated Astra Sharma in the first round of the Miami Open and followed it up with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-3 win against 13th seed Angelique Kerber in the next round. Osaka defeated 9th seed Danielle Collins with a dominating scoreline of 6-2, 6-1 to set up a semi-final clash against Bencic. In an intense match, Osaka got the better of Bencic in three sets, coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Iga Swiatek has been in splendid touch throughout this ATP-1000 event and looks like the player to beat. The Polish ace is seeded second in the tournament and she has certainly lived up to expectations so far. Swiatek comfortably brushed aside seeded opponents in her last three encounters. She defeated 14th seed Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-1 and followed it up with a win against Petra Kvitova (28) to set up a semi-final clash against 16th seed Jessica Pegula. The Polish star then went on to notch a comfortable straight-sets victory against Pegula 6-2, 7-5 to set up a summit clash against Naomi Osaka.
Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka have faced each other only once previously on the WTA circuit. Osaka won on that occasion in 2019 at the Canadian Masters in straight sets 7-6, 6-4. Swiatek however, is currently playing her best tennis. The Polish ace has won her last 10 matches and is coming off a championship win in her previous tournament – the Indian Wells Masters.
This is a match which is very difficult to predict. On one hand, we have Iga Swiatek who is at the peak of her career and on the other side we have Naomi Osaka who is determined to make a statement and put her name for reckoning among the top crop once again!
It promises to be a fascinating encounter with no player ready to leave an inch to the other. We are predicting an intense, hard-fought three-setter with Swiatek eventually coming out on top to win two consecutive ATP-1000 titles.
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