The opening women’s Grand Slam title of the year will be won on Saturday when Naomi Osaka takes on Petra Kvitova in what should be an extremely entertaining Australian Open final inside the Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park.
While these two are fighting for the first major of 2019, they are also going to compete in a winner-takes-all clash for the number one spot in the world rankings, so there is plenty on the line on what should be a fascinating evening of tennis.
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Naomi Osaka
The Japanese star Naomi Osaka will be going in search of successive Grand Slam titles, which is she is successful will immediately catapult her profile even higher and place her among the very leading names in the history of the game. She is already the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam but feats like the one she could achieve remain extremely rare in this era, unless you are called Serena Williams of course.
It hasn’t been a breeze into this semi-final for Osaka. Su-Wei Hsieh probably should have taken care of her in the third round and she has had to go three sets twice since then but having beaten Anastasija Sevastova, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova in successive rounds, nobody can argue that she doesn’t deserve her spot in this final.
Petra Kvitova
There is little doubt that the player of the tournament so far has been Petra Kvitova. While you could argue that she hasn’t had the hardest draw to get into this final she hasn’t lost a set and looks to be hitting the ball extremely sweetly indeed. Her big serve and explosive groundstrokes make her extremely dangerous and she is carrying the confidence of winning in Sydney with her, which further increases her fear factor.
This is the first time the Czech star has been in the final of a Grand Slam since her horror attack which put her out of the game for a good period. That might make this an emotional occasion for her but if she can control those emotions then she is entitled to be a major factor in this final. She can certainly fight power with power with Osaka.
Head to Head
This is the first time these two star players will have met in their career and what a stage and occasion to do it in. The winner will go to the top of the world rankings for the first time. Osaka will land a second Grand Slam if she is victorious while Kvitova will win her first one outside of London. There doesn’t look to be too much between on paper so it will be interesting to see what actually transpires out on the court.
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Betting
Those who have followed me for the entire fortnight will be on Osaka to win this match at 14/1 and I’m certainly not going to shirk her now. I’m actually amazed she is the outsider to win here. She is the future of tennis and I hope and suspect we are going to see why that is the case. Petra Kvitova has had a wonderful tournament but she has had a nice draw.
I’m not condemning her for that but she’s in with the elite here and I expect she will be found wanting. I’m not backing Osaka again though but I do think the games line is a little high at 22.5. I think there is a very good chance that this final is won in straight sets and if it is I don’t think the sets will be close enough for this line to cover. Both women are wonderful in front and get snatchy when losing. Under 22.5 games does for me here.
Tips
Back Under 22.5 games for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Betway
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