The 2019 WTA Toray Pan Pacific final will be played on Sunday and both Naomi Osaka and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will hope the weather stays clear when they go head to head in this title-decider. Get all the information on the Naomi Osaka v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova tips and predictions with some of the other previews below.
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Naomi Osaka v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Predictions & Preview
It might not have been the best follow-up season for Naomi Osaka after she won the US Open last year but as she has pointed out on occasions before, she did win the Australian Open as well. It’s what followed that might not go down well with her fans, as in the 12 tournaments Osaka has participated in since that opening major of the year, the Japanese has reached the final for the first time here.
A third round loss at the French Open, an opening defeat at Wimbledon and a fourth round ouster as a defending champion at the US Open saw Osaka lose the pole position in the WTA rankings.
But for her to then make it to the final, which included two wins on Saturday on account of poor weather earlier, which included a victory over Yulia Putintseva, her two-time vanquisher this season, would have felt special.
And up against her in this final at the Toray Pan Pacific Open is Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has played her twice before. The spoils have been shared, with Pavlyuchenkova winning their first match in Hong Kong in 2017 before Osaka needed three sets to edge past the Russian in three sets at last season’s Hopman Cup.
It’s not been a great year for Pavlyuchenkova before this though, having gone on a six-match losing streak across the three surfaces she featured on. She stalled that with a first round win at Toronto but lost again before going down in round two at the US Open.
Which is why for her to beat Dayana Yastremska, Kiki Bertens, Misaki Doi and Angelique Kerber to make it to the final in this competition will both be a proud moment and a relief. Whether she would be able to convert that into her first title victory since the Strasbourg Open last year remains to be seen.
Interestingly, Pavlyuchenkova’s last tournament win on hard court came in 2017 in Hong Kong in the same tournament she had beaten Osaka. Can she make it two in two?
Tip: Osaka to win in straight sets: 13/10 (Unibet)
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