This has been a schizophrenic comeback season for American Amanda Anisimova. The 23-year-old missed much of last season, deciding to take some time away from the court to focus on her mental health. And she came back with a vengeance at the start of the campaign, reaching the fourth round of the Aussie Open.
She missed the first four WTA 1000 events of the year and didn’t win a match in either Madrid or Rome. But she then showed her quality by reaching the biggest final of her career in Toronto (she would lose to an in-from Jessica Pegula in three sets).
Things just haven’t worked out since that wonderful WTA 1000 showing in Canada. She pulled out of Cincinnati in the following event and was eliminated by Qinwen Zheng in the first round of the US Open (which was admittedly a tough draw).
She competed in Korea last week but was forced to withdraw from his match against Tomova due to injury. How will her body hold up on these demanding Beijing surfaces?
22-year-old Colombian Camila Osorio has enjoyed a rather erratic campaign. Osorio did pick up her second WTA title at the Copa Colsanitas. But she was inconsistent on either side of that and her season seemed to be headed to obscurity. But she suddenly showed some hardcourt life at the recent Guadalajara Open Akron, reaching a WTA 500 semifinal for the first time in her career.
Nominally considered something of a clay-court specialist, the Colombian did win the US Open title as a junior. She is a nuggety player who tends to play quite defensive tennis, moving brilliantly and looking to grind her opponents down.
That is exactly what she did in her opening victory against Ajla Tomljanovic, coming back from a one-set deficit to wear down the bigger-hitting Aussie. Osorio is your prototypical clay-court hustler and will look to extend rallies as much as possible, looking to exploit the physical fragility of Anisimova.
The Verdict: Anisimova to win in three sets 31/10
Anisimova leads the head-to-head 1-0, beating the Colombian in three sets at the 2019 Copa Colsanitas (a tournament that Osorio would later dominate). This could be a stern test for Anisimova.
Osorio is a nightmare opponent for a player looking to conserve their physical energy. Osorio will use her supreme athleticism to hunt down lost causes. However, Anisimova’s superior power on both wings should see her prevail in three.
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