Taking the title
The second day of the women’s round of 16 is scheduled for Monday. In the first three rounds there has been a considerable die-off of favourites. Only two ladies from the top ten seedings are still in the tournament this round. One of them is Spain’s Paula Badosa, who will have to face Romania’s Simona Halep at Church Road.
Simona Halep is the last woman still in the field at Wimbledon 2022, having already triumphed at Church Road. Of the 16 remaining women, most are now probably flirting with perhaps even winning the trophy on Saturday. But there is still a long way to go, or to put it another way: four victories are still missing.
Paula Badosa is not rated highly at all by our tested betting providers. Yet the Spaniard is number four in the world rankings. Therefore, the 24-year-old is certainly one of the candidates who might eventually be one of the successors of her upcoming opponent. Based purely on the ratings, the forecast for the match between Paula Badosa and Simona Halep is for the Romanian to win.
However, we think that the former world number one is not quite as strong at the moment as she was three years ago when she won at Wimbledon. So we don’t see the Spaniard as an underdog at all, quite the opposite. We can imagine placing a bet on a win for the Spaniard in the match between Paula Badosa and Simona Halep.
Paula Badosa – Statistics & current form
Current World Ranking: 4
Position in the seedings: 4
Since early childhood, becoming a professional tennis player has been Paula Badosa’s big goal. The Spaniard was born in New York and it is not without reason that the US Open is her favourite tournament. She then went on to Barcelona and Valencia, always to where there were the best opportunities for development, always with Simona Halep in her sights, whom Paula Badosa herself cites as one of her great role models.
Increasing from match to match
Now the Spaniard has overtaken her idol in the WTA rankings and could possibly win against the Romanian for the first time on Monday, even though it didn’t look at all like the 24-year-old was going to play much of a role at Wimbledon in the run-up to the tournament after losing in the first round at Eastbourne and coming to London without a grass-court win.
At Church Road, however, Paula Badosa is showing a very mature first week. Even once she is in trouble, she fights her way back into the match. In the first round, she had a clear 6:2 and 6:1 against US qualifier Louisa Chirico. The Spaniard was also convincing over long stretches against Irina Bara from Romania and won smoothly 6:3 and 6:3.
In the third round, she then faced two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. It was the expected close match with a lot of thrills, in which the Spaniard had to fight her way back, especially in the first set. In the end, however, she defeated the Czech 7-5 and 7-6 and if she manages to be as strong-willed on Monday, then you have to look at the odds for a Spanish victory in the duel between Paula Badosa and Simona Halep.
Simona Halep – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 18
Position in the seedings: 16
In terms of play, Simona Halep is certainly one of the great athletes of her time in tennis. In the last two years, however, the Romanian has repeatedly had bad luck with injuries and has therefore fallen out of the top ten in the rankings. Physical and psychological problems have been a recurring theme in the 30-year-old’s career.
Increasing from game to game
Since spring, she has now been working with Patrick Mouratoglou, who trained or continues to train with Serena Williams, Coco Gauff or even Stefanos Tsitsipas for a long time. After a setback and a panic attack in Paris, things are now going very well. Simona Halep reached the semifinals in Birmingham and Bad Homburg, but recently had to miss another match due to injury.
On top again after change of coach
She doesn’t seem to have any problems at Wimbledon so far. In the first three rounds, it looked very confident that the Romanian presented herself. First, the Czech Karolina Muchova had no chance in two straight sets. Then Simona Halep sent Belgian Kirsten Flipkens packing and there were no major problems in the third round either against Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
Paula Badosa – Simona Halep Direct comparison / H2H record
It wasn’t that long ago when Paula Badosa and Simona Halep faced each other on the tennis court for the only time ever. It was at the end of April when the Spaniard faced the Romanian in the second round of the Madrid Open. Paula Badosa was seeded second, while Simona Halep was unseeded in Madrid.
The bookmakers saw both women on an equal footing with a slight advantage for the Spaniard. On the court, however, Simona Halep set the record straight and won clearly 6:3 and 6:1. However, it has to be said that the Spaniard is more comfortable on fast courts with her dynamic game. So we expect a different match on Monday.
Paula Badosa – Simona Halep Tip
Paula Badosa has already shown all her qualities at Church Road this year. Especially when she has strong opponents, she shows her nerve and fighting spirit. In the third round, the Spaniard has already bowled out Petra Kvitova, a former Wimbledon winner. Can she do it again in the last 16?
If you go by the WTA rankings, the Spaniard is one of the top favourites for the title at Church Road, but Simona Halep is a tough nut to crack on Monday. Both have yet to lose a set at Wimbledon this year. But we think the winner on Monday will need three sets to reach the quarter-finals. Therefore, we tend to place a bet on more than 2.5 rounds between Paula Badosa and Simona Halep.
Who will win in the end is hard to say. The Spaniard has at least already shown that she can compete with the great ladies of the white sport on grass, and her Romanian role model is certainly one of them. We think that after the ranking, there could be a changing of the guard on the court as well and are offering betting odds on a win for the Spaniard in the duel between Paula Badosa and Simona Halep.
