World No. 1 Naomi Osaka will face Su-Wei Hsieh in the third round of the 2019 WTA Western & Southern Open on Thursday in Cincinnati. The match will take place on August 15 and will start after 2:30 pm local time (7:30 pm BST). Get Naomi Osaka v Su-Wei Hsieh live streaming options with the preview here.
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Naomi Osaka v Su-Wei Hsieh Head to Head
Osaka holds a 3-1 lead over her adversary from Taipei, defeating her twice this season already. At the same time, Hsieh’s one and only win over Osaka also came in this season itself, in the third round of the Miami Open.
Osaka Survives an Early Scare
Naomi Osaka struggled a bit in her opening round fixture against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, which went on for longer than what a lot of fans would have predicted. In a three-set affair, the 21-year-old Japanese had to trump the Belarusian with 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-2.
The number two seed arrived in Cincinnati after a decent run in the Rogers Cup, where she fell to Serena Williams in the quarterfinal. Even though she hasn’t won a title since the Australian Open, Osaka still remains as top favourites in the US Open.
Interestingly, it has been a humbling year for the No. 1 player, whose form witnessed a gradual decline in the weeks before the US Open series. For instance, in Paris, Birmingham, and London, Osaka failed to move past the early rounds, falling to a litany of underdogs.
These defeats, however, have helped the Japanese become a much better player than what she was before. Plus, she is determined to have more fun on the tour now rather working relentlessly, which is always good!
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Hsieh Packing a Certain Punch
At 33 years of age, Su-Wei Hsieh has got a lot of experience to her name, especially on the doubles circuit. She won the Wimbledon doubles title with Barbora Strycova this season, putting her right in the top 10.
But as a singles player, things haven’t gone as per the playbook for her. Her best result till date came in Dubai and Miami, where she reached the semifinal and the quarterfinal respectively. It is worth mentioning that in these two events combined, she routed some big names like Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, and Osaka.
However, Hsieh has failed to replicate this kind of momentum in the past few weeks. In Toronto, she lost her opener to Sofia Kenin while in Washington the week before, she lost in the third round to Catherine McNally.
Osaka v Hsieh Prediction & Tips
Hsieh has defeated Osaka once this season and with that win in mind, she will certainly fancy chances in this encounter. If anything, the Japanese appears to be a bit vulnerable and that is something that other players will look to exploit. But on paper, at least, Osaka will start as the heavy, odds-on favourite.
Tip: Under 20.5 games in the match: 11/25 (888Sport)
The Osaka v Hsieh match can be watched live with Unibet here on Thursday, August 15, 2019. Also, get the latest tennis tips and predictions here.
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