Light up the candles and pour the wine because we have an Italian feast coming up here in the Japan Women's Open! In one corner, we have the sushi-slaying sensation, Aoi Ito, ready to swap her traditional sushi knife for a tennis racket. In the other, we have Elisabetta Cocciaretto, an Olive-garden-ordering, pizza-loving, Italian maven.

We all love an underdog story, don't we? But in this matchup, Ito is stepping onto the court like a lamb before the Italian lioness. Yes, Ito recently emerged victorious over Kenin, but remember folks, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Cocciaretto, on the other hand, has been skinning opponents like they're ripe tomatoes for an arrabbiata sauce! When we look at Cocciaretto's performance, the Italian maestro seems to have a way of pulling out a win even when down at love, let alone holding a top 8 tournament seed.

Whether Ito going toe-to-toe with Cocciaretto is a stroke of genius or fool's play, I suppose we'll find out soon enough. One thing's for sure, Ito might have a better chance at finding a unicorn than scoring an upset in this match.

Albert’s Prediction: Cocciaretto in straight sets.