TennisSection previews the 2021 French Open as Naomi Osaka (2) meets Patricia Maria Tig in the First Round on Sunday May 30th, 2021.
Can world number two Naomi Osaka get her season back on track with a strong showing here at the 2021 French Open? Or can Romanian Patricia Maria Tig stun the tennis world by causing the massive upset? The four-time Grand Slam winner has struggled mightily on the clay courts throughout her career, is she ready to mount a challenge here at Roland Garros?
Naomi Osaka is considered one of the very best female tennis players in the world, and is the second seed here at the 2021 French Open. Despite her heroics on hard courts, she has traditionally struggled on the clay surface and will be desperate to put in a strong showing here. Osaka has all eyes on her this week, as she sensationally announced that she will be boycotting all media here at Roland Garros this season. With her dominant baseline game and elite movement, it is strange for her to have struggled so badly on the clay and one must wonder if it is a mental thing. While she has not been in great form, she should still be backed to win here against Patricia Maria Tig, and enters this First Round match as the favorite to advance.
Patricia Maria Tig is currently ranked #63 in the WTA world rankings, and is unseeded here at Roland Garros. While her opponent Naomi Osaka has struggled this season, Tig has performed even worse, astonishingly winning just one out of seven matches that she has played this year. The Romanian has been in terrible form in 2021 after reaching a career-high ranking of #56 last year, and consecutive First Round losses leading up to the 2021 French Open will have her confidence in tatters. To make matters worse for her, she will be facing Naomi Osaka who despite her struggles is one of the best players in the world. The Romanian enters this match at Roland Garros 2021 as the massive underdog, and it would be a huge shock if her second win of the year comes against an opponent of this caliber.
This will be the second time that the two women are facing each other on the WTA Tour, and Naomi Osaka leads their head to head series 1-0. They played all the way back in 2015, with a young Osaka winning in three sets. This is a relatively easy match to call, and will result in a straight-sets win for the Japanese superstar. Naomi Osaka has been in terrible form recently but luckily for her, her opponent Patricia Maria Tig has been even worse. I expect her to dominate from the baseline, and advance to the Second Round here at the 2021 French Open without much difficulty. Osaka will be desperate to reach the second week at Roland Garros for the first time, and will be highly motivated here.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Naomi Osaka to win
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