China Open 2024: Naomi Osaka vs Katie Volynets preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick
Match Details
Fixture: Naomi Osaka vs Katie Volynets
Date: September 29, 2024
Tournament: China Open 2024
Round: Third Round (Round of 32)
Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $8,955,610
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Naomi Osaka vs Katie Volynets preview
Four-time Major champion Naomi Osaka will square off against Katie Volynets in the third round of the China Open 2024 on Sunday (September 29).
Osaka commenced her run here with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Lucia Bronzetti. She took on 21st seed Yulia Putintseva in the second round. The Japanese couldn't find her range in the first set, and lost the set after getting broken twice.
Osaka blew a 2-0 lead in the second set but recovered in time as she nabbed the last three games of the set to force a decider. She carried that momentum into the next set to race ahead 3-0.
Putintseva brought her losing skid to a halt by nabbing the next couple of games. It turned out to be a brief reprieve for her as Osaka once again went on a three-game run to wrap up a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 comeback win.
Volynets, meanwhile, beat Dalma Galfi 7-5, 6-1 to set up a second-round date with 14th seed Marta Kostyuk. Both players struggled during their service games in the first set, and there were seven breaks of serve in all. The American eventually gained the upper hand and captured the set.
Volynets landed the first blow in the second set and built a 3-1 lead for herself. The match finished with neither player being able to defend their serve. There were five consecutive service breaks towards the end of the set, with the American edging past Kostyuk for a 7-5, 6-3 win.
Naomi Osaka vs Katie Volynets head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Naomi Osaka vs Katie Volynets odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Naomi Osaka vs Katie Volynets prediction
Osaka's win over Putintseva snapped her 22-match losing streak after dropping the first set. It marked her first comeback win since the Miami Open two years ago. She couldn't make any inroads on the Kazakh's serve in the first set, and only won a handful of points on return.
However, Osaka got better and better as the match went on, and dictated the play for the majority of the third set. She displayed better rally tolerance than before, that too without compromising on her aggressive shotmaking. She's still a little inconsistent on serve, though she does enough to get the job done for now.
Volynets' star has been on the rise this year. Her win over Kostyuk was her second top-20 scalp this season. As she hasn't advanced beyond the third round of a WTA 1000 event before, she will start off as the underdog against the Japanese.
Osaka won the title here in 2019, and this is her first appearance in Beijing since then. She's on an eight-match winning streak here, and will be favored to extend it against Volynets.
Pick: Naomi Osaka to win in three sets.