Madrid Open 2022 Day 3: Women's singles odds, picks and predictions, featuring Simona Halep vs Paula Badosa

Paula Badosa, Simona Halep and Ons Jabeur will be in action in Day 3 of the Madrid Open

Paula Badosa and Simona Halep will headline Day 3 of the Madrid Open. The pair face off in their first match as the rest of the field finishes the round-of-32.

With some exciting tennis action in store for us, let’s take a look at the odds and predictions for some of the major matches on Day 3 of the Madrid Open.

Paula Badosa (-135) vs Simona Halep (+105) Prediction

This will undoubtedly be the most highly anticipated match of the day, with the current World No. 2 and former World No. 1 battling it out.

Badosa has had a pretty good season so far, winning 20 out of 28 matches and one title. The Spaniard is the heavy favorite to win the Madrid Open following the withdrawal of Iga Swiatek, which will make her the first woman from the host nation to clinch the title.

Halep has also fared well in 2022 so far, with 16 wins out of 20 matches. The Romanian won the Melbourne Summer Set 1 while also reaching the semifinals of the Indian Wells Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships. She beat Zhang Shuai to reach the second round of the Madrid Open.

Halep and Badosa will take on one another for the first time. However, Badosa will probably edge out the former World No. 1 to advance to the third round.

🇪🇸 Paula Badosa gana en su debut en Madrid ante 🇷🇺 Kudermetova con un cómodo 6-3 6-0

La nº2 del mundo, muy solvente ante una jugadora muy complicada para la 1ª ronda y que ya le había ganado sus tres primeros enfrentamientos

🆚 En 1/16 de final se enfrentará a 🇷🇴 Simona Halep https://t.co/CpOivYYFs1

Pick: Badosa to win in three sets (+333) via Oddschecker.

Victoria Azarenka (-200) vs Tamara Zidansek (+160) Prediction

15th seed Victoria Azarenka will face Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek in the second round. Azarenka has not fared particularly well this season but neither has the Slovenian.

The Belarusian reached the second round after triumphing over Viktorija Golubic, marking her ninth victory of the season in 15 matches. Zidansek, meanwhile, registered a comprehensive victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia to get to the second round.

This is the second meeting between the two, with the Slovenian beating Azarenka in Guadalajara in 2020. However, the former World No. 1 should be able to get the better of her this time seeing that they're playing on clay and Azarenka is a different player from back in 2020.

Pick: Azarenka to win in straight sets (+105) via Oddschecker.

Ons Jabeur (-800) vs Varvara Gracheva (+500) Prediction

Eighth seed Ons Jabeur will take on Varvara Gracheva for a place in the third round of the Madrid Open. The Tunisian has won 14 out of 21 matches this season while her opponent has triumphed in only four matches.

Jabeur beat Jasmine Paolini in straight sets while Gracheva had to come back from a set down to beat Alize Cornet in the first round in Madrid.

This is the very first meeting between the two and Jabeur should have little trouble getting the better of the Russian.

Pick: Jabeur to win in straight sets (-250) via Oddschecker.

Belinda Bencic (-275) vs Karolina Muchova (+210) Prediction

11th seed Belinda Bencic will take on Karolina Muchova. The Swiss has produced some pretty good performances this year, winning her first clay title at the Charleston Open and reaching the semifinals of the Miami Open.

Muchova recently returned from injury and might still be rusty. Nonetheless, it will be very interesting to see which of the two comes out on top. Bencic beat Irina-Camelia Begu comprehensively while Muchova had to come back from a set down to defeat Zheng Qinwen in the first round of Madrid.

This will be the second meeting between the two players, with the Olympic champion leading the head-to-head 1-0.

Karolina Muchova plays Belinda Bencic later today in Madrid Open.

They have met once previously with Belinda Bencic winning; today our algorithm thinks they will win again with a 79.13% chance.

#MadridOpen #WTA1000 #WTATour

Pick: Bencic to win in two sets (-115) via Oddschecker.