Should you bet on Naomi Osaka to win US Open 2022?
In a few short weeks, the tennis world will gather at Flushing Meadows, Queens, for the fourth Grand Slam of the season.
Naomi Osaka catapulted to fame in NYC when she won her first title in a controversial 2018 match against Serena Williams. She went on to literally dominate the sport, and over the next two years added three more Majors to her Hall of Fame worthy trophy case.
Naomi Osaka is currently the +650 favorite to win the 2022 US Open; can she regain her form and hoist the trophy this September?
Her record against the top 10
For someone who has lifted as many Major titles as Osaka has, you’d think she would have a strong record against the very best players in the world. Her career mark of 12-21 against the top 10 is spotty, but is 4-5 against the very best at a Grand Slam.
If Osaka can get on a roll like she did when she defeated three top-10 players en route to her 2019 Australian Open victory, then she has more than a puncher’s chance of winning at Flushing Meadows.
Her last 52 weeks
We’ve seen more off-court Osaka this season and the results have shown. She’s 15-8 overall, but has played in just 13 events, skipping the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and is 0-1 in 2022 vs the top 10.
Her best win over the past 52 weeks came against a then eleventh-ranked Danielle Collins in Miami. Osaka thumped Collins in straight sets, reached the final and lost convincingly to Iga Swiatek.
Naomi Osaka has led the WTA this season in service hold percentage (80 percent), winning an incredibly high 77 percent of her first service points. Her second serve has been the culprit; she wins just 48 percent of her second-serve points, and that isn’t going to win many championships.
Coaching change
Tennis coach Wim Fisette was with Osaka between 2020-2022, and the duo won two Major events before Fisette called it quits earlier this year.
Osaka is once again being guided by her father and maybe their professional reunion will help her return to the top of the game.
Silicon Valley Classic
Naomi Osaka needed three sets to dispatch Qinwen Zheng at the Silicon Valley Classic this week, but failed in her bid to defeat rising star Coco Gauff. Gauff punished Osaka's second serve and converted three of her dozen break points.
Osaka didn’t compete much until she had to, but hopefully saving seven match points against Gauff gives her the confidence to compete on every point at the US Open later this month.
Osaka on saving 7MPs: "When I was playing I realized I've been letting people call me mentally weak for so long that I forgot who I was. I lost today but I feel really confident in who I am. I feel like the pressure doesn't beat me. I am the pressure. I'm really happy with that."
Prediction
Can Naomi Osaka win the US Open? The easy answer is, yes, she can. The more difficult question is, will she?
The talent is obviously there; you don’t soar to the level she has achieved without some talent, and she has an abundance of that.
Osaka has several off-court pursuits that seem to conflict with a full-time touring professional, and her playing just 13 events over the past 52 weeks probably doesn’t help the tennis much.
Perhaps having her father around will help Osaka focus more on tennis, but his tennis history is scant, and it’s doubtful he’ll do for her what a professional tennis coach like Fisette has.
Osaka has the experience of spending 25 weeks at the top of the rankings, but has a 33-35 career record against the top 20 players in the world. It’s incredible that a player with four Major plates on her mantle could have such a horrendous record against the world's best.
Being ranked No. 41 in the world means she will be unseeded at the US Open, and her first-round opponent could be anyone.
While some parts of her game have suffered due to inactivity, her serve is still the biggest and most successful on tour. She saved seven match points with her serve against Gauff, and hopefully she recaptured the fire of competing.
The price right now of +650 is a terrific price to pay for a two-time champion with a huge serve. If Osaka can manage to drag a few of these top-20 players into a tie-breaker and then dominate with her serve, she can beat anyone on tour.
Take Naomi Osaka at +650 to win the US Open.
Also Checkout:- US Open 2022 Results