TennisSection previews the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as Naomi Osaka (2) meets Saisai Zheng in the First Round on Sunday, July 25th, 2021.
Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka makes her highly-anticipated return to the WTA Tour here at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as she faces Saisai Zheng in the First Round. Osaka has taken a few months off the tour to focus on her mental health, and tennis fans the world over will be delighted to see her back on court, especially at the Olympics in her home country. She has the entire weight of the nation on her shoulders as she seeks to win gold here in Tokyo. Will she move on as expected? Or will Zheng spoil the party and cause the massive upset here?
Naomi Osaka is currently ranked #2 on the WTA and is also seeded second at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. After a break from the tour she is back and rearing to go, and will have her eyes firmly focused on winning gold here. She had been having a mixed season so far in 202 with her Australian Open title as the highlight. If she is truly fully over her struggles she should be considered one of the main contenders here in the Olympics. Her power and improving serve are likely to allow her to completely dominate her opponent Saisai Zheng and all signs are pointing towards a strong showing here this week.
Saisai Zheng is ranked #52 on the WTA Tour and is unseeded here at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Japanese player has been in mixed form in recent times undergoing a shocking streak where she lost six matches in a row. She has since steadied the shop and has been much improved, however the draw has not be kind to here here as she will face second seed Naomi Osaka. Zheng is a solid baseline player that has won a title on this surface and while question marks remain on her opponent’s fitness, she enters this match as the massive underdog.
This is the third time that the two players have met on the WTA Tour, with Naomi Osaka leading the head to head 2-1. Saisai Zheng won their first ever meeting back in 2015, but Osaka got her revenge in 2017 and earlier this year with a straight sets victory. While we really don’t know what frame of mind she will be in or how fit she is, I am predicting a straight sets win for Naomi Osaka here. It might take her some time to get going, but once she gets back into her groove, there are not many women in the world that can compete with her. I expect a straight sets win for Naomi Osaka who will advance to the Second Round here at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Naomi Osaka to win in straight sets
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