Konta – Halep

A place in the Wimbledon semifinals will be in sight for Johanna Konta and Simona Halep, as the two Top 10 players will square off Tuesday on Center Court in the quarterfinal stage.

Johanna Konta had some pretty good results on grass this season, posting a 12-2 win-loss record. Her 12 wins in 14 matches seem impressive, but fact is that Konta didn`t actually play that great. She had many difficult matches against mediocre players, and was defeated pretty easily when she met solid / in form opposition. Here at Wimbledon Konta lost 2 sets despite a pretty easy draw, as she faced Hsieh, Vekic (10-8 in the decider), Sakkari and Garcia.

Simona Halep didn`t look impressive on grass this season after her unbelievable run on clay, but that was to be expected, as her game is not very well adapted for the green. However, despite not playing at her best, Halep managed to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals without losing a set. Her best performance came in the 4th round against Azarenka, when she won 7-6 6-2 against a very dangerous and motivated opponent. It was a good showing from Halep and that will give her confidence coming into this clash.

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The H2H is tied at 2-2 (0-0 on grass). Konta and Halep met twice this year with both players winning a match. The last meeting was a couple of months ago in Fed Cup on clay, with Halep demolishing Konta 6-1 6-3 in a match that could have very well ended 6-0 6-1.

Credit to Konta for posting a 12-2 record on grass this year, but that is a misleading stat and whoever watched her play knows she isn`t exactly in great form – that is why odds on her to win keep going up since the bookies posted them. Even here at Wimbledon he had two grueling matches she almost lost, against Vekic (2nd round) and Garcia (4th round).

Konta is looking like a player with no real weapon and is struggling to win games / points when she faces an in form opponent. That will be a big problem for her against somebody like Simona Halep, a solid baseliner which rarely gives you free points. Without any real way to dominate, as she isn`t capable to hit winners consistently, Konta will have to get involved in long rallies – which will clearly be to her disadvantage.

Konta is better adapted to grass than Halep, but she is simply a worse player than the Romanian. Plus, her form is not as good as it seems. In these circumstances, and after seeing Halep perform very well against Azarenka on Monday, you have to feel the Romanian is a solid favorite here.

To be honest I would have picked Konta against most of the players who reached this stage, but the fact she is meeting Halep gives her even less chances. Despite Halep not being a grass court player, she is solid on the surface when she`s confident and in form (it`s her third QF at Wimbledon) – that is the case now, as she had an unbelievable run on clay, and showed some of that level on Monday against Azarenka.

My tip is Halep to win and I will invest pretty high stakes on this one. I would not be surprised if odds continue to drop on this bet. Prediction: Johanna Konta – Simona Halep 7-6 2-6 4-6.

Pick: Halep
Odds: 1.94 @ 1xBet
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 8.46
Event date: 11 July