Qatar Open 2024: Naomi Osaka vs Karolina Pliskova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (PR) Naomi Osaka vs Karolina Pliskova
Date: February 15, 2024
Tournament: Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2024
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $3,211,715
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN
Naomi Osaka vs Karolina Pliskova preview
Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova will go up against each other in a battle between former World No. 1s in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Qatar Open.
Osaka knocked out 15th seed Caroline Garcia to kick off her campaign here. Having bowed out of last week's Abu Dhabi Open in the first round, it was a much needed win for her. She then defeated Petra Martic 6-3, 7-6 (9) in the second round to notch up consecutive wins for the first time this year.
Awaiting Osaka in the third round was Lesia Tsurenko, but the Ukrainian ended up withdrawing from the tournament due to an injury. The 26-year-old thus made it to the last eight via a walkover. This also marks her first quarterfinal since the 2022 Miami Open.
Pliskova, meanwhile, had no time to soak in her triumph at the Transylvania Open on Sunday, as she had to be in Doha the next day. She showed no signs of slowing down as she scored three-set wins over Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova to reach the third round.
Here, Pliskova was up against her younger compatriot, Linda Noskova. The 31-year-old went up a break to lead 3-2 in the first set, but the teenager bagged the next four games to take the set.
Pliskova was on the backfoot in the second set as she trailed by a break twice, but turned things around to capture the set. She ran away with the match after that, dropping just a single game in the decider, to score a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 comeback win.
Naomi Osaka vs Karolina Pliskova head-to-head
Pliskova leads Osaka 4-2 in the head-to-head. The Czech won their previous encounter at this year's Brisbane International in three sets.
Naomi Osaka vs Karolina Pliskova odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Naomi Osaka vs Karolina Pliskova prediction
A lot will depend on how Pliskova's body holds up as she has played non-stop tennis since this Sunday. All of her matches in Doha have also been three-set affairs. However, the Czech has always found a way to peak against Osaka.
Pliskova lost the first set against the Japanese when they crossed paths in Brisbane last month, but fought back to win in three sets. She's unfazed by Osaka's powerful hitting and is able to match it with her own precise and clean shots.
Pliskova is also a pretty good server, which helps her to keep up with Osaka. A walkover from Tsurenko was far from ideal for the Japanese, as she was just starting to string together some wins. She needs as many of those as she can to get back to her best.
If Pliskova isn't too fatigued after this week's efforts, it wouldn't be surprising to see her get the better of Osaka yet again. However, the latter has started to find her mojo once more, so this could be her chance to finally one-up the Czech.
Pick: Naomi Osaka to win in three sets.