WTA Madrid final preview: Halep and Bertens will fight for the crown
The final of the Mutua Madrid Open will be a face-to-face meeting between Simona Halep and Kiki Bertens. The Romanian and the Dutch will compete for the first time since the Western & Southern Open 2018, in Cincinnati. Both arrived in the right way at this final, showing a solid and winning tennis. Both play tennis that is perfectly suited to clay courts, so it will be a very balanced challenge, where mental strength and residual athletic energy will make the difference.
Halep reached the final by beating opponents like Johanna Konta, Ashleigh Barty and Belinda Bencic along the way, losing only a set in the semifinal against the Swiss. Bertens, during her path to the final, defeated rivals such as Katerina Siniakova, Jelena Ostapenko, Petra Kvitova and Sloane Stephens, without losing a single set during the tournament.
It will be an overall balanced final, where Halep's experience and her desire to win her first seasonal title could be an advantage for her. Simona could also achieve a better athletic freshness, as her opponent finished playing a few hours later in the semifinal of yesterday. Despite this, Kiki is playing a great week, so we could see some surprise.
In the head-to-head Halep leads 3-2. They have already played two matches on clay courts, and the balance is 1-1, with Halep who won the last match on this surface in 2017, in Rome. In this season Simona played and lost the final in Doha against Elise Mertens (in her career she won 18 titles in 24 finals played), while Bertens played and won the final in St. Petersburg against Donna Vekic (in career she won 8 titles in 10 finals played).
WTA Madrid final - Percentages
Simona Halep 51% Kiki Bertens 49%
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2HefVrd
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