Roar Guru
Shunted from Rod Laver Arena, Ashleigh Barty has let slip a huge opportunity to become the first home-grown Australian Open women’s quarter-finalist in more than a decade.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Ashleigh Barty 4 2
Naomi Osaka 6 6
The last Australian woman left in the tournament, Ashleigh Barty goes up against Naomi Osaka in the third round. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match at the 2018 Australian Open on Saturday starting from 3:30pm AEDT (estimated).
Ashleigh Barty must have a bad case of déjà vu. Following hard-fought victories against power players Aryna Sabalenka and Camila Giorgi in the first two rounds, the world No.17 needs to do it all again this afternoon when she plays Naomi Osaka, another player who hits the ball hard.
Barty comes into this third round match in great form. She has shown good composure in her first two rounds, coming from a set down in both to slowly gain control before dominating late. Prior to that, she was a finalist in Sydney last week going down to an equally in-form Angelique Kerber.
In short, she’s started 2018 like she finished 2017. While she would no doubt appreciate an easier path through to the round of 16, Barty will need to work hard for this one.
Naomi Osaka is ranked 68. However, with wins over Venus Williams in Hong Kong in late 2017 and the 16th seeded Elena Vesnina in the second round in Melbourne, her form is certainly ahead of her ranking at the moment.
Prediction
First up, we can discount the head to head history. Their only match was in qualifying almost four years ago in Acapulco. Osaka was 16, Barty 17. A lot has changed since then.
Barty will have to do it the hard way again, with Osaka winning the first set. On a cooler Rod Laver Arena this afternoon, I’m predicting a three-set win for Barty.
Ashleigh Barty to win in three sets.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match between Ashleigh Barty and Naomi Osaka at the 2018 Australian Open on Saturday starting from 3:30pm AEDT (estimated).