Lilli Tagger and Tereza Valentova meet in the round of 16 at Osaka on Wednesday. Tereza Valentova is 6-4 across recent matches. Lilli Tagger has won 5 of the last 10.

On paper it's close: comparable ratings, comparable serve numbers, small margins everywhere. Valentova comes in off a compressed schedule. Little separates them; Valentova gets the nod on the finest of margins.