Ashleigh Barty vs Naomi Osaka Tennis Prediction
Top seed Ashleigh Barty thumps British wildcard Katie Boulter in 59 minutes to storm into the semifinal of Nottingham, without dropping a set this week. Barty struck eleven aces, won 78% behind her first serve and 62% of the return points en route to this 6-0 6-2 victory.
Barty had ended up as the quarterfinalist of Nottingham in her previous two appearances here. In 2016, she played as a qualifier and lost to Karolina Pliskova, 7-6 7-6. In 2017, she fell to local favorite and eventual finalist Johanna Konta in straight sets, 6-3 7-5.
In the last twelve months, the 2017 Kuala Lumpur champion has gone 3-2 in WTA semifinals, including a runner-up finish at Birmingham (l. Kvitova). Her most recent final four clash ended in retirement against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at Strasbourg due to back issues.
Third seed Naomi Osaka, playing her first grass quarterfinal, brushes aside fifth seed Mihaela Buzarnescu in straight sets, 6-4 6-1. This 77-minute match ended with Osaka facing no break points and winning 27/34 (79%) on her first serves.
Osaka made her debut at Nottingham last year and suffered a 48-minutes loss to Kristie Ahn (6-1 6-1). She started this week by dropping a set to #82 Sachia Vickery but has been playing impressively since, defeating Vickery by 3-6 6-1 6-2 and Allertova by 6-3 6-2.
Osaka has a 2-0 record in WTA semifinals, a title at 2018 Indian Wells (d. Kasatkina) and runner-up at 2016 Tokyo (l. Wozniacki). The 20-year-old has a 0-2 record against fellow top 20 players on grass and is also on a four-match losing streak against such players.
Both players are bidding to become the first from their country to reach a final at Nottingham. The pair split the head-to-head record at one win to each, with Barty winning at 2014 Acapulco and Osaka winning at 2018 Australian Open. Both matches ended in straight sets.
Tennis Prediction: Naomi Osaka
Odds: 2.45
