Australian Open 2019: Serena Williams vs Simona Halep, Preview and Prediction
When the Australian Open draw was announced, there was an anticipation for a possible early round clash between the world's number one female tennis player and a player who the world number one considers as the world’s best player.
And that is exactly how the results have panned out and even before the quarter-final stage, we have a match between a much-loved Romanian and possibly the greatest women’s tennis player of all time.
Simona Halep has made no secrets of her admiration for the Williams sisters, especially for Serena. For a long time, she has lived under the shadows of Serena Williams despite being number one in recent times, and even after her third round win, she seemed to suggest that she would go into the match as the underdog.
That may well be true, since Serena has looked in terrific form in the first three rounds. In the three matches she has played so far, she has not only won those in straight sets, but has made each one of them extremely lop-sided, losing just an unbelievable nine games.
Serena’s fearsome service game, arguably the best in business in the WTA circuit, has been on full display, and so has her return game. She has broken her opponents 16 times and has been broken just twice, both to the resurgent Canadian Eugenie Bouchard.
However, the ease with which she has been able to brush aside her opponents so far may also be a disadvantage as she has not yet been tested and a sudden rise in the quality of her opponent could pose difficulties for her.
Unlike Serena, Simona has been tested severely in her three matches so far. Ironically, her most authoritative performance came against a player who was supposed to present her the sternest challenge till then – Venus Williams.
After playing two tough three-setters in the first two rounds, including one against her US Open nemesis Kaia Kanepi in the first round, she looked in much better shape against Venus Williams.
She was able to absorb the pressure exerted by the power and speed of Venus, and she would expect to do the same against Serena.
Halep has a very mediocre head to head record against Serena Williams as she has won only one out of their previous nine encounters, but some of those matches have gone to the wire, and that should instil some self-belief in Simona.
Serena likes to apply the pressure from the word go. If Simona can somehow manage to withstand that pressure and remain competitive in the early stages of the match, she would certainly fancy her chances, though both the current form and past records point at a Serena win.
Prediction: Serena Williams to win in straight sets