World No. 3 Simona Halep will face Johanna Konta in the second round of the 2019 Madrid Open on Tuesday. The match will take place on May 7 and the timings will be announced soon. Get Simona Halep v Johanna Konta live streaming options here.
Looking to watch (and bet) on the Halep v Konta live streaming online? Go to bet365 > Tennis > Live Streaming here*
[the_ad_group id=”1018″]
*Geo-restrictions apply & pre-funded account needed
Simona Halep v Johanna Konta Head to Head
Konta has won three of their four meetings on the WTA Tour, making her one of the few players to hold such an impeccable record over Halep.
She built that 3-1 lead, starting in 2015 with their last meeting taking place in 2017. It was the Cincinnati Open where Halep registered her one and only win over the British.
Halep Starts with a Clinical Run
The reigning French Open champion started her run in Madrid with a straight-set win over Margarita Gasparyan. Halep lost just four games in the process to reach the second round.
The Romanian has a pretty record in the Madrid Open, winning the tournament back to back in 2016 and 2017. Clay is one of her most preferred surfaces and generally, she has looked pretty whenever she plays on clay courts. Last year, Halep made it as far as the quarterfinals here.
This time around, things are fairly different for her as she is in contention for the No. 1 singles ranking. She can achieve this feat by winning the tournament but standing in her path are the likes of Ashleigh Barty and Angelique Kerber.
It will also be a bit tricky, given that she hasn’t had that great of a season so far. Her best results came in Doha and Miami, where she was a runner-up and a semifinalist respectively.
Konta Keen on Reinventing Herself
Johanna Konta was once World No. 4 – a feat she achieved after winning the Sydney International and Miami Open in 2017. That was a good year for the Brit, as she reached the semifinal in Wimbledon too. But since then, her form has taken a massive toll.
2018 was a disastrous year, except for her runner-up feat in Nottingham. Following that feat, she has spent her time slowly building her form and didn’t have much luck until recently.
After starting the season with a series of disappointing defeats, she finally had a breakthrough in Morocco, where she reached the final. It was a good performance by Konta, and she carried that same vigour to Madrid too. In the opening game, she defeated Alison Riske 6-4, 6-1.
Halep v Konta Predictions & Tips
Konta has a psychological advantage over Halep in the form of a daunting 3-1 lead. Plus, she also has a bit of momentum from her recent performance on clay last week. Theoretically, she should have a good edge here but Halep, being the stronger one here, will take the odds in her favour.
Expect this to be a tight game but Halep should come out on the top comfortably.
Tip: Over 19.5 games in the match: 9/10 (888Sport)
The Simona Halep v Johanna Konta match can be watched live with Unibet here on May 7, Tuesday. Also, get the latest tennis tips and predictions here.
Be the first to comment