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Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka will square off on Friday in a highly anticipated third round clash on the Women’s draw at Wimbledon.
Although she generally played OK, Halep hasn`t quite been her best self this season, reaching just two finals and dropping from No. 1 to No. 7 in the rankings. She failed to defend her Roland Garros title, exiting in the fourth round to Anisimova, and hasn`t looked well on grass (her worst surface). Halep played in Eastbourne, where she lost to Kerber in the quarterfinals, and defeated Sasnovich (6-4 7-5) and Buzarnescu (6-3 4-6 6-2) here at Wimbledon – but struggled in both matches despite the poor level of competition.
Azarenka has been pretty average this season, as she keeps trying to return at her previous level of play. She lost her only pre – Wimbledon grass court match in Mallorca against Garcia in three sets, but here at SW19 she is looking really solid. Azarenka defeated Cornet 6-4 6-4 in the first round and demolished Tomljanovic 6-2 6-0 in the second round, finding her groove and playing some of her best tennis in years.
Bet on Halep vs. Azarenka and get a 100% (100 Eur) welcome bonus at 1XBet now!The H2H is tied at 2-2, but Halep leads 1-0 on grass and won the previous two meetings. The pair met last time at Wimbledon in 2017 and Halep won 7-6 6-2, but Azarenka only played 6 matches that year and was far from her best. Grass clearly favors Azarenka (even if the courts are slower this year), as this is by far Halep’s worst surface.
Halep really hasn`t looked very good in this tournament, playing very tight matches against below average level of opposition. She`s not in her best form, so she is looking even worse on grass considering that she never enjoyed this surface very much. She`s not a bum or anything like that on grass, and on her day she can play well on the green, but it`s still her least favorite surface.
Azarenka on the other hand is coming after an excellent display against Tomljanovic, in which she won the last 12 games of the match, looked pumped up, fit and sharp. She will definitely come in with a lot of motivation and confidence.
Halep at her best can frustrate Azarenka with her baseline defense and smart aggressive style, but this is not Halep at her best. She`s making errors, which is a killer for her game, and her movement on grass is not as good as on other surfaces, so she can`t cover the court quite as well. As such, Azarenka’s aggressive style could / should have success.
All things considered, it`s probably smart to go with the player in better form and better adjusted to the surface. Azarenka looked really well in the second round, while Halep did not. My tip will be Azarenka to win. Prediction: Simona Halep – Victoria Azarenka 6-3 4-6 3-6.
Pick: Azarenka
Odds: 1.99 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.92
Event date: 5 July
