Canadian Open 2022: Coco Gauff vs Simona Halep preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (10) Coco Gauff vs (15) Simona Halep.
Date: August 12, 2022.
Tournament: Canadian Open 2022.
Round: Quarterfinal.
Venue: Toronto, Canada.
Category: WTA 1000.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $2,697,250.
Match timing: 1 pm ET, 5 pm GMT and 10:30 pm IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - Sportsnet, TVA Sports | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Coco Gauff vs Simona Halep preview
Teen star Coco Gauff will take on former World No. 1 Simona Halep in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Canadian Open on Friday.
Gauff has been tested for the better part of her campaign in Montreal. Following an easy first-round victory over Madison Brengle, she battled past reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the second round.
She held four match points in the second set, but was pushed to a third set by the Kazakh. The American ultimately held her nerve in the final set tie-break to win the match.
Gauff was up against World No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round. Both players had multiple break-point chances in the opening set, but the teenager claimed the last three games of the set to win it.
Gauff then led 4-2, and had three break points to make it 5-2, but some clutch play from Sabalenka denied her that chance. The Belarusian went on to win four games in a row to take the second set and jumped to a 3-0 lead in the deciding set as well.
It was then Gauff's turn to stage a fightback, and she did just that. She took the set to a tie-break and came out on top to win the match 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4).
The QUEEN of the Grandstand! 👑
@CocoGauff wins another epic match in a 3rd set tiebreak.👏
7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) over Aryna Sabalenka.
#NBO22 https://t.co/uHCXrxumqg
After a couple of straight-sets wins over Donna Vekic and Zhang Shuai to kickstart her Canadian Open campaign, Simona Halep was up against Jil Teichmann.
The Romanian broke her opponent's serve twice to go 3-0 up in the opening set. Teichmann fought back by winning the next couple of games, but the former World No. 1 took the next three in a row to bag the set.
The two were evenly matched for most of the second set. Halep snagged a break in the 11th game to lead 6-5. She had to save a break point in the next game, after which she closed out the match to win 6-2, 7-5.
Coco Gauff vs Simona Halep head-to-head
Halep leads Gauff 3-0 in the head-to-head. She won their most recent encounter at this year's Madrid Open in straight sets.
Coco Gauff vs Simona Halep odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Coco Gauff vs Simona Halep prediction
While Gauff has been pushed to the limits in Montreal, Halep has had a much easier time in the tournament so far. The Romanian also boasts a perfect winning record against the teenager, making her the favorite to emerge victorious yet again.
Gauff's serving woes have returned to haunt her at the Canadian Open. She hit 15 double faults in the third round, having recorded 13 prior to that contest. A strong returner like Halep will feast on her weak serve. The American's forehand has been quite wonky too, and has been responsible for most of her errors so far.
Halep's consistency will likely be enough to get her over the finish line in this contest. She doesn't give away cheap points for free and will exploit her younger opponent's weaknesses to the fullest.
However, despite the instability in Gauff's game at the moment, her fighting spirit, athleticism and mental toughness have kept her in contention.
The American youngster has been able to dig her way out of trouble so far. But against Halep, whom she has not beaten so far, she'll need to turn things around quite drastically.
Gauff does have the talent to do it, but in all likelihood, it will be the two-time Grand Slam champion who will come out on top yet again.
Pick: Simona Halep to win in straight sets.