World No.1 Naomi Osaka is seeking her second straight title in the desert. This is the first time in her career that she looks to defend a title. On the men’s side, last year’s champion is unfortunately absent, as Juan Martin Del Potro is still ailing from a knee injury he suffered in the fall. But the men’s No.1 is present, who is also the man who won the last three Majors.
Naomi Osaka (1) vs. Danielle Collins (25)
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On Saturday, Osaka defeated Kiki Mladenovic, who had upset Naomi just a few weeks ago in Dubai. Collins though may prove to be a sterner test. It was at this tournament one year ago when the 25-year-old American first made an impression on the WTA tour, with a surprise run to the round of 16 highlighted by a win over Madison Keys. Just two weeks later, she came through qualifying to make the semis in Miami, which included an upset over Venus Williams. And Collins started off 2019 by reaching her first Major semifinal in Australia. She is a fiery competitor, who will not hesitate to roar in her opponent’s direction after winning a point. And she has a big game that can completely overpower the opposition when it’s clicking, as we saw in her 6-0, 6-2 upset of Angelique Kerber in Melbourne. Osaka can match that firepower, and more importantly, has stronger defensive skills to match. Their only previous meeting was last October in Beijing, where Osaka crushed Collins 6-1, 6-0. I think this will be much tighter, as Collins is fully comfortable playing on US hard courts. I’m curious to see how Osaka deals with the pressure of defending this title, and without Sascha Bajin in her coaching box.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber
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These two last played in the same round of this same tournament three years ago, which saw Djokovic win 7-5, 7-5. Kohlschreiber had his chances in that match, but it never felt out of Novak’s control. Overall Djokovic has won eight of their nine career meetings with Kohlschreiber’s only victory coming at Roland Garros nearly 10 years ago. Their closest contest came in 2010 at Indian Wells, when Djokovic needed a third set tiebreak to prevail. That’s actually the only time Novak has dropped a set to Philipp in the five times they’ve played on a hart court. The 35-year-old German has been a dependable top 50 player dating back for well over a decade. And he’s capable of pushing top names, as we recently saw in Dubai when he forced a third set against Roger Federer. Djokovic did not play his best in his opening round against Bjorn Frantangelo, his first match since his Australian Open victory in January. But I would assume Novak will up his level here, and there’s nothing in Kohlschreiber’s game that should give Djokovic too much trouble.
Other notable matches on Day 8
- Venus Williams, coming off her emotional victory over Petra Kvitova, vs. Christina McHale, a fellow American
- Sascha Zverev (3), who had been battling a viral illness, vs. Jan-Lennard Struff, a fellow German
- In a battle of rising ATP stars, Felix Auger-Aliassime, fresh off his upset of Stefanos Tsitsipas, vs. Yoshihito Nishioka, who impressively took out Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday
- It will be firepower against finesse, with Dominic Thiem (7) vs. Gilles Simon (27).
