Second seed Naomi Osaka of Japan will face No. 23 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece in the quarterfinal of the Miami Open on Wednesday, March 31. Get the live streaming options of this Naomi Osaka v Maria Sakkari match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Naomi Osaka v Maria Sakkari Head to Head
This will be the fifth meeting between the two, with Osaka leading 3-1 head to head.
The only time Sakkari won was in the Round of 64 in Cincinnati in 2018. Interestingly that was the only match between the two, which was decided in two sets. All of Osaka’s wins have been three-set affairs, with the Japanese winning the first and the third.
Osaka won the first of those contests in Indian Wells in 2018, then at Birmingham in 2019 and Brisbane in 2020.
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Osaka Looking Unbeatable
Second seed Naomi Osaka needed just an hour and 28 minutes to defeat Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the Round of 16 and enter the quarterfinals of the Miami Open for the first time in her career.
The win was the Japanese player’s 23rd consecutive victory in a row.
Osaka, who could not take part in the final of the Western and Southern Open and the semifinal of the Gippsland Trophy due to injuries, has been unbeaten since the start of the Western and Southern Open. The run has included two Grand Slam victories at the U.S. Open and the Australian Open.
Ranked second in the world, the 23-year-old Osaka had begun her Miami Open campaign with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 win over Ajla Tomljanovic in the Round of 64.
Osaka, who had received a first-round bye, was handed a walkover in the third round after her opponent, qualifier Nina Stojanovic, withdrew from the competition.
A four-time major champion, Osaka, who has seven career titles, created 14 break point opportunities against Mertens, breaking the Belgian on five occasions.
Mertens had four chances to break Osaka, but the latter saved two of them.
On Wednesday, Osaka faces a tricky opponent who has taken her to decider on three of their previous four meetings.
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Sakkari Survives Scare
No. 23 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece saved six match points to outlast the 29th seed Jessica Pegula of the United States in a dramatic fourth round contest on Tuesday.
Sakkari saved five match points at 4-5 in the third set and then saved another in the tiebreak, before sealing a spot in a first Miami Open quarterfinal with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6) win.
The two-hour-and-38 minute contest saw Sakkari save 13 of 19 break points and convert five of 13. She won 112 points compared to Pegula’s 116 in the match but capitalized on the first match point opportunity while the American squandered six of them.
The 25-year-old Sakkari, who was 8-5 this year before the start of the tournament, began her Miami challenge with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Arantxa Rus in the Round of 64.
The World No. 25 was ruthless in her third round match against Russian qualifier Liudmila Samsonova, beating her 6-0, 6-1.
Sakkari, who reached the semifinals in Abu Dhabi and at the Grampians Trophy and the quarterfinals in Doha this season, has won one career title in Rabat in 2019 and finished runner-up in San Jose in 2018.
Osaka v Sakkari Prediction and Tip
Can Sakkari end Osaka’s streak? She will definitely test the Japanese and may even take a set, but it will take a massive effort to beat the World No. 2. Expect this to be another close three-setter with Osaka advancing.
Tip: Osaka to win in three sets: 3/1 (bet365)
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The 2021 Miami Open will be played from March 22 to April 4. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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