World number two Simona Halep has a task on her hands when she takes on in-form Serena Williams in the quarterfinal of the 2021 Australian Open on Tuesday, February 16, with the match likely to begin at around 11 am local time (12 noon BST or 7 pm Eastern Time previous day). Get the live streaming options of this Simona Halep v Serena Williams match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Simona Halep v Serena Williams Head to Head
There have been 11 matches played between these two players with Serena having won a whopping nine of these. However, their most recent meeting came at the 2019 Wimbledon final in which Halep managed to crash the Serena party by getting past her 6-2, 6-2 to lift the trophy and deny her opponent a record 24th major.
Time for revenge then?
Also Read:
Serena Digs Deep to Oust Sabalenka
It was never expected to be a straightforward win for Serena in her fourth round match, going up against a player tipped to be the dark horse in the tournament. Aryna Sabalenka matched Serena shot for shot and power for power, but a superb display of defensive play from the American ensured the world number seven was unable to get past.
Serena won 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, needing two hours and 11 minutes with the American immense sense of occasion in the first and third sets of the encounter.
As it turned out, Serena broke Sabalenka in both those sets while the Belarusian served at 4-5 to stay in the set and match respectively, ensuring she is now just three wins away from going for her 24th title.
Earlier in the tournament, Serena hadn’t been tested too much, with straight-set wins over Laura Siegemund, Nina Stojanovic and Anastasia Potapova in the first three rounds of the competition. Halep will be another big challenge.
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Halep Overturns Swiatek Hold
Having lost to Iga Swiatek at the last season’s French Open, winning just one game in that encounter in the process, Halep would have had a fair idea she was up against a solid youngster. But when she fell 6-3 in the first set after dropping her serve to love in the eighth game, Halep could have been forgiven for feeling a tad worried a repeat of that French Open defeat was in the works.
An early break for Halep in the second set turned things around for her she raced to a 3-0 lead and then broke again in sixth to claim the equaliser.
In the third, Halep was at her opponent yet, breaking her in a very long first game, but she dropped her serve in the fourth game for the set to be levelled at 2-2. A game later, Halep was back at it again with a break of serve and this time around it proved to be a decisive one, leading to a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over the Polish teenager.
A better first serving % than the 62 she got against Swiatek is what Halep will need against a player of Serena’s caliber but she will also take confidence from the points won on return – 41% on first serves and 42% on the second.
Serena v Halep Prediction and Tip
No surprises here that Serena starts bit of a favourite here at 8/11 at the time of writing this preview and while Halep would consider herself a chance to get past her opponent, the American has shown a decent improvement in her fitness and court coverage. Tipping the American to edge this.
Tip: Serena to win: 8/11 (bet365)
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The 2021 Australian Open will be played from February 8 to 21. You can watch & bet on the these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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