Fourth-seeded Japanese Naomi Osaka will face the 13th seeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round of the Australian Open 2019.
Watch & bet on Naomi Osaka v Anastasija Sevastova live with bet365 here* on Monday, January 21. The Osaka v Sevastova match will start not before 12:00 pm local time (2:00 am BST).
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Sevastova Carries Forward Her Momentum from 2018
2018 was a landmark year for the 28-year-old Latvian. She reached the semifinal in many big competitions like the WTA Brisbane, Charleston, and most impressively, the US Open.
At the Flushing Meadows, she defeated many prominent names on the circuit like Ekaterina Makarova, Elina Svitolina, and Sloane Stephens. She repeated a similar feat in Beijing as well, where she was the runner-up after losing to Carolina Wozniacki in the final. That was her second runner-up trophy that season, with the first one coming in Mallorca.
Apart from that, she also won the title in Bucharest. All of this helped Sevastova reach her best singles ranking as the World No. 11.
She started her 2019 season on a rather average note – a first-round defeat in Sydney and a quarterfinal run in Brisbane. As for her stint in Melbourne so far, she hasn’t been troubled that much. It was only in the second round that she faced some resistance from the Canadian qualifier Bianca Andreescu but she dealt with that threat in three sets.
Osaka’s Quest for Her Second Grand Slam
Last season, Osaka won the US Open after defeating Serena Williams in a controversial final. Earlier that year, she had also won the Indian Wells Open and was later the runner-up in the WTA Tokyo. It was quite a run by the 21-year-old, who started the year as the World No. 70 and finished it as the World No. 4.
She has started this season strong by reaching the semifinal in the WTA Brisbane, where she lost to Lesia Tsurenko. As for her performance in Melbourne, it has been similar to that of Sevastova’s. While she won her opening matches in straight sets, she was tested by Su-Wei Hsieh in the third round.
In the end, Osaka won the match with 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the fourth round.
Osaka v Sevastova – Head to Head
The two players share an interesting rivalry that began only recently. They have met four times so far and the record is presently tied at 2-2.
In 2018, they met twice and on both the occasions – WTA Doha and China Open, Sevastova defeated Osaka in straight sets. The two ladies also ran into each other in the quarterfinal of the WTA Brisbane earlier this year. That time around, it was Osaka to got even with her Latvian adversary through a three-set win.
Osaka v Sevastova – Who Will Win?
The two players have tested each other many times in the past. Sevastova has been playing some of the best tennis of her career while Osaka is carrying forward her momentum from the previous season. This one is going to be an evenly matched encounter, one that may very well go to three sets.
You can watch & bet on Naomi Osaka v Anastasija Sevastova live with bet365 here* on Monday, January 21.
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