Elise Mertens vs Simona Halep
27th January 00:00hrs
Tennis – Australian Open – 4th Round
Pick Halep 2-0
Bookmaker betfair
Odds: 6/4 odds taken 23:09 GMT, Saturday 25 January
Simona Halep is the second-favourite to win the Australian Open 2020. While she has seen other top seeds around her drop, she has held herself well. Now there comes a tricky match in the fourth round of action at Melbourne Park.
Elise Mertens is the one to challenge Halep next. She is ranked 16th in the world and has so far, only dropped one set en-route to the fourth round. Can she come up with a top-drawer performance to knock out the world number four?
Table of Contents
Mertens rolling along in hot form in Melbourne
Elise Mertens breezed through her opening two matches at Melbourne Park. She dropped only the five sets across those two fixtures. Belgium’s Mertens was up against Catherine Bellis and breezed through the opening set there.
After her opponent got on the board thanks to a second-set tie-break, Mertens then responded to win the deciding set 6-0. That is three times in her three matches at this tournament so far that she has taken a set 6-0.
That is a player in form without question. Mertens did reach the semi-finals of the 2018 Australian Open but had a third-round tumble twelve months ago. She did reach the quarter-finals of the US Open last year as well, which was an excellent performance.
Earlier this month she went into acting at the Hobart Intentional and lost in the quarter-finals there against Britain’s Heather Watson. She crushed Watson 6-3 6-0 in the second round of this Australian Open.
Mertens and Halep have met three times before on the WTA. Mertens trails 1-2 in those meetings. The first meeting two meetings Halep took and they were superbly comfortable wins as well, dropping just six games in total across those two successes.
But then in the final of Doha last year, Mertens turned the tables a bit, taking the title in three sets against Halep. That’s a huge positive that she can look at as they meet again.
No troubles for Halep so far at AO2020
World number four Simona Halep has had no trouble whatsoever moving through to the fourth round of the Australian Open. It has been some fine stuff from her so far. The Romanian has not dropped a set yet as she yes up a spot in the quarter-finals.
In her third-round match, Halep was up against Yulia Putinseva and Halep crushed her 6-1 6-4. So it has all been fairly academic for her in Melbourne aside from a bit of a rushed second set against Britain’s Harriet Dart in the second round.
There is a little bit of extra pressure mounting on Halep now because of some of the top seeds around her having fallen by the wayside. Number two seed Karolina Pliskova has already fallen which leaves Halep as the highest-seeded player in her half of the draw.
Things really have opened up for the Romanian in that half with reigning champion Naomi Osaka, Serena William and Belinda Bencic all having bowed out. So there is a golden opportunity here for Halep to get her first title in Melbourne.
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Halep was a losing finalist at the 2018 Australian Open, her best effort at the tournament. She has won two of the last seven Grand Slam titles on offer though. It will be fascinating to see if she can get some momentum back now against the dangerous Mertens.
Halep’s defensive side of her game is likely to come into focus here against a player who is very good on the service game. Sometimes the mental side of Halep’s game has been called into question, but she looks as if she is strong enough to handle this.
Elise Mertens vs Simona Halep Betting Advice
It is Halep who gets the nod in this fixture in the fourth round of the Australian Open. She has looked focused and very strong behind her own serve so far. The Romanian is one of the better defenders on the circuit as well, but this is not going to be an easy challenge for her because Mertens is running in nice form.
Key Facts – Elise Mertens vs Simona Halep Betting Tip
- Halep leads the head to head 2-1 against Mertens
- Mertens has taken three sets at the Australian Open 2020 6-0
- Halep has yet to drop a set in this year’s Australian Open
But even though Mertens did stop the rot against Halep in Doha last year, there is no question that she is the underdog here. She has simply breezed through the challenges which have been put in front of her so far at this tournament, but now things go up a considerable level. It’s tough to even see her getting a set on the board, so it is s a Halep 2-0 in set betting. The telling thing is that Mertens has yet to meet anyone of note so far in 2020.
The best betting odds for Elise Mertens vs Simona Halep
Elise Mertens to win: 12/1 at Bet365
Simona Halep to win: 10/11 at Bet365
