US Open 2021: Simona Halep vs Camila Giorgi preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (12) Simona Halep vs Camila Giorgi
Date: 30 August 2021
Tournament: US Open 2021
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: New York, United States
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $40,560,000
Match timing: 11 am local time, 3 pm GMT, 8.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - BBC TV & Radio | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Simona Halep vs Camila Giorgi preview
12th seed Simona Halep will kickstart her 2021 US Open campaign with a first-round match against Camila Giorgi on Monday. Halep will be making her first Grand Slam appearance since the Australian Open earlier this year.
The Romanian is in the midst of an injury-stricken year. She made the quarterfinals at the Australian Open before withdrawing from her second-round match in Miami due to a shoulder injury. The 29-year-old returned to the tour for the claycourt season in Stuttgart, where she progressed to the last four.
A sudden injury to the calf muscle in Rome then forced Halep into a three-month long hiatus. She missed Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, which pushed her out of the top 10 for the first time since 2014.
The World No. 12 made a comeback during the US Open Series, where she lost her opener in Montreal. She did, however, win her first-round match in Cincinnati, before sustaining an adductor tear that ruled her out of the rest of the tournament.
Camila Giorgi, meanwhile, has been in red-hot form lately. She won the biggest title of her career in Montreal, where she beat four seeded players. As a result, the Italian cracked the top 50 earlier this month, for the first time since 2019.
Other notable results from Giorgi's season include a semifinal finish in Eastbourne and a run to the last eight in Lyon.
The 29-year-old's best result at the US Open came in 2013, when she made the fourth round. But her record has been dismal since then, and she would be hoping to correct that this time around.
Simona Halep vs Camila Giorgi head-to-head
The sole meeting between Simona Halep and Camila Giorgi took place in 2015 in Miami, where Halep prevailed in straight sets. Hence, their head-to-head currently stands at 1-0 in favor of the Romanian.
Simona Halep vs Camila Giorgi prediction
Camila Giorgi has some of the most powerful groundstrokes in the women's game today, and she always looks to finish points quickly by hitting big winners. That said, the Italian is prone to making unforced errors if her timing is even slightly off.
Simona Halep, on the other hand, brings a lot of balls back into play and knows how to remain patient during longer exchanges. The Romanian is also a proficient server on her day; she fired a whopping 11 aces in her match against Magda Linette at Cincinnati.
If Halep can avoid any mental lapses and shake off the rustiness from her recent injury woes, she should be expected to cross the finish line on Monday.
Prediction: Simona Halep to win in two tight sets.