Naomi Osaka vs Mihaela Buzarnescu Tennis Prediction
Naomi Osaka powers past Denisa Allertova in just over an hour to book her first WTA quarterfinal on grass. She did not face a single break point en route to the 6-3 6-2 win. The third seed started the week with a comeback win over Sachia Vickery, 3-6 6-1 6-2.
Osaka had never won back-to-back matches on the grass outside of Wimbledon before this week. Her current tour-level W/L on this surface stands at 7-6, which includes two top 30 wins over #23 Barbora Strycova at Wimbledon and #27 Lauren Davis at Birmingham.
Osaka debuted at Nottingham last year, losing the first round to Kristie Ahn in 48 minutes (6-1 6-1). Her only previous quarterfinal appearance so far in 2018 came at Indian Wells, where she ended up winning the title after defeating the likes of Sharapova, Pliskova, Radwanska, and Kasatkina.
Mihaela Buzarnescu, playing a WTA grass event for the first time, has advanced to the quarterfinal by edging past Irina Falconi in a three-setter (6-3 5-7 6-3). The match lasted for two hours and six minutes, same as her first-round win over Veronica Cepede Royg (6-2 3-6 7-6).
Buzarnescu, whose career bloomed at the age of 29, debuted into the top 30 after posting the fourth round at the French Open (never won a slam main draw match before). Her season has been highlighted by runner-up finishes at Hobart (Mertens) and Prague (Kvitova).
Both players do not find grass as their most eventful surface. Osaka is favored to beat the Romanian in their first-ever meeting, despite having a 1-3 record against left-handed players in the last twelve months.
Tennis Prediction: Naomi Osaka
Odds: 1.43
