Naomi Osaka will kick off her Asian swing at the China Open. The Japanese tennis star last played at the US Open, where she suffered a second-round defeat to Karolina Muchova. That loss extended Osaka’s run of failing to win successive matches on the WTA Tour to six tournaments.

It has not been the comeback season that Osaka envisaged when she plotted her return at this time last year following the birth of her first child. Osaka is a disappointing 19-17 for the season and had to terminate the services of Belgian coach Wim Fisette. She is now working with French coach Patrick Mouratolgou. Will the new coaching change bring a change in fortunes for the four-time Grand Slam champion?

Lucia Bronzetti will be appearing in the main draw of the China Open for the first time. The Italian is a modest 23-28 for the season, although she will arrive in Beijing in good form.

Bronzetti was a semifinalist at her most recent tournament on hard courts in mid-September. She lost to in-form Slovak Rebecca Sramkova in Monastir. Before her trip to Tunisia, Bronzetti had lost four of her last six matches on hard courts. Overall, she is 11-16 on outdoor hard courts, and that aforementioned run in Monastir remains her best result on the surface.

Naomi Osaka vs Lucia Bronzetti Head-To-Head

• Osska won a tight three-setter between them at this year’s French Open first round. It remains their only career meeting.

Naomi Osaka vs Lucia Bronzetti Prediction

Osaka is one of the best hard-court players in the game. But we haven’t quite seen the Japanese player in full flight this season. Maybe she needs a different voice in her camp to try and improve her game. I think Mouratoglou’s intellect and awareness will  be what she needs and I expect Osaka to get off to a strong start in the Asian swing.