Simona Halep vs Kristyna Pliskova Tennis Prediction
Apart from their 2017 Madrid meeting, the pair has also met this year at the Indian Wells second round. The Czech fell to Halep in an hour and 15 minutes (6-4 6-4), going 0/6 on the breakpoint opportunities.
Simona Halep News
Simona Halep ends the 13-match winning streak of Lugano and Rabat champion Elise Mertens by humbling the Belgian, 6-0 6-3, in an hour and 11 minutes. In the process, the two-time defending champion has extended her winning streak at Madrid to 14.
The three-time slam finalist Halep started her ninth Madrid campaign by thrashing Makarova in the first round, 6-1 6-0, in just 51 minutes. Halep is seeking to join Safina (2009) and S. Williams (2013), who have lifted the Madrid title while being ranked world #1.
Halep enjoyed a successful clay-court season in 2017, going 18-3 (second most clay wins, behind Bertens at 24-6). Apart from defending Madrid title (d. Mladenovic), she made two other finals, at Rome (l. Svitolina) and Roland Garros (l. Ostapenko).
Kristyna Pliskova News
Kristyna Pliskova gets past Spanish wildcard Sara Sorribes Tormo, who had upset #13 Keys in the first round, in a straight-set fashion (7-5 6-2) in an hour and 24 minutes. This is Pliskova’s first Premier Mandatory round of 16 appearance.
Pliskova’s previous two Madrid appearance had ended without a win, in 2016 (l. Siegemund in the qualifyings) and 2017 (l. to none other than Halep in the first round, 6-1 6-2). In 2017, she appeared at the tournament ranked #48, compared to #98 this year.
The 2016 Tashkent champion has posted a couple of clay quarterfinals in 2018, Charleston (d. #10 Kvitova) and Prague (d. #55 Sasnovich, defending runner-up points). This week, Pliskova defeated two Romanians, Bogdan, and Bara, to get into the main draw.
Tennis Prediction: Simona Halep Corect Score 2-0
Odds: 1.50
