WTA China Open Semifinals Odds & Pick: Osaka vs. Wozniacki

• Naomi Osaka will be taking on Caroline Wozniacki in the second semifinals match at the 2019 China Open, on October 5th at 7:30 am EST
• Osaka defeated Canadian Bianca Andreescu to reach the semifinals
• Wozniacki defeated Russian Daria Kasatkina to reach the semifinals

Following the semifinal match between Ashleigh Barty and Kiki Bertens, the second matchup, featuring former World No. 1’s Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki, will take place.

Going into the tournament, Osaka’s China Open Odds were +900 and Wozniacki’s were +4000. Naomi came into the tournament as the fourth seed, but Wozniacki wasn’t seeded in the Top 10.

2019 WTA China Open Semifinals Odds

*Odds taken 10/04/19

Osaka’s Road to the Semifinals

In their first ever meeting, Osaka was able to shut down Bianca Andreescu, and end her 17-match win streak that dated back to the US Open.

The marquee matchup lasted over two hours between the young phenoms.

Naomi Osaka: "I feel like in the beginning we were both scoping each other out.

"She was probably thinking, like, Wow, what is she doing? I'm just, like, hitting so many unforced errors. She's like, Wow, she won two Grand Slams like that?” #ChinaOpen

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 4, 2019

It didn’t look too bright for Osaka when Andreescu took a early 5-1 lead in the first set, but Osaka battled back to eventually even the set at 5-5, before Andreescu would go on to take the set 7-5.

Again, in the second set, it looked to be all Andreescu early on, when she was able to break the Japanese tennis star. The 21-year-old Osaka flipped the momentum however, winning five consecutive games and taking the second set, 6-3, before advancing 6-4 in the third and final set.

Wozniacki’s Road to the Semifinals

Former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki has been nothing less than impressive at the China Open this year.

She started the tournament off by winning her match 6-1, 6-3, and set a tone for herself and her opponents. All of Caroline Wozniacki’s matches this tournaments have been settled in straight sets.

#SAPGameSetStat : @CaroWozniacki's return game in Beijing has been 🙌@SAPSports pic.twitter.com/1Jr6xkbkb9

— wta (@WTA) October 4, 2019

Naomi Osaka will be a challenge Wozniacki has yet to face. He quarterfinal matchup was nowhere near the grind that Osaka’s was as she won 7-6, 6-3, to move on to the semifinals.

Head-to-Head History

This will be the third time these two players have seen each other on the court. Wozniacki has been able to take both meetings, but don’t expect this semifinal matchup to be an easy win for the Danish player.

Osaka vs Wozniacki

From what we saw during Osaka’s match vs. Andreescu, if Wozniacki is able to break her, she could steal a set. The Danish star has a few years of experience on Osaka, which is what it seemed Osaka had on Andreescu in their matchup. Osaka was able to flick a switch when Andreescu started to take an early lead on her, which shows the dominant power the Japanese star has in her game.

What’s the Best Bet?

With Osaka a -300 favorite and Wozniacki a +230 underdog, it’s a pretty fair indication who is going to win the match.

Neither player has been truly challenged at the China Open until the quarters, especially Osaka, as she was forced to go the full three sets for the first time this week by Andreescu.

Caroline Wozniacki has played her fair share of tough opponents in her tennis career, especially as a former No. 1, but hasn’t seen much of it yet this tournament. Osaka will be her first real test at this tournament, and it looks like Naomi will have the upper hand due to her ability to overpower Wozniacki with the serve.

Pick: Osaka -300