Australian Open 2019 Preview – January 19th, 2019 at 1:30 am
There was always a pretty decent chance that we were going to get this top third round clash at the Australian Open and it has lined up that way. World Number One Simona Halep, who has had her struggles in the opening couple of rounds, takes on Venus Williams. The winner of this one is very likely to be facing up to Serena Williams in the fourth round.
Venus Williams v Simona Halep odds*
Simona Halep 4/9
Venus Williams 7/4
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 17th, 2019 at 10:52 pm)
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Halep overcomes early adversity
Yes, we get the match we so wanted to see. Let’s start with Simona Halep who hasn’t really gotten herself going in the event yet. In the first round, she was up against Kaia Kanepi, the player who destroyed her at least season’s US Open in the first round at Flushing Meadows. After Halep had dropped the first set in this current meeting, it must have been a tough place for her to come back from. But she did and that set her up against Sofia Kenin in the second round.
Again Halep needed three sets to win the match. Halep was absolutely cruising at one set up and a break up in the second set. Then all of a sudden she had lost the second set tiebreaker and was battling to stay in the match in the final set. Halep did dig deep though to pull out the match win. If anything it does point to the resilience that she has and it’s not the first time that we have seen her drop unexpected sets in matches. Far from it.
But as the rounds progress she is going to be let off the hook less and less in situations like that. Halep, who won the French Open last year to get her first Grand Slam title was a losing finalist at Melbourne Park last year. She surprisingly lost the final against Caroline Wozniacki. That remains her best-ever finish at the Australian Open. The Romanian is a fantastic talent but her mental approach just seems to go wandering now and then.
Venus struggles too
Venus Williams had a struggle in her first round match as she was taken to three sets against 25th seed Mihaela Buzarnescu. Williams had dropped the first set on a tie break but managed to claw her way back to a victory, set up by a tiebreaker victory in the second set. That broke the resistance of her opponent and Williams eased to a 6-2 win in the final set. But it was another three-set affair that she faced in the second round.
She was always going to have a really tricky opponent in France’s Alize Cornet in the second round and it proved to be just that. Cornet grabbed back a set to leave things level in the second, but then she spent so much energy in turning the game back in her favour that it fell apart for her in the final set. Williams took the final set 6-0.
So from being a game away from eliminated in the first round, Williams now is up against the World Number One and could potentially be facing her sister in the next round.
Head to Head
There have been five previous meetings between the two players and it is Williams who leads the head to head 3-2. However, that doesn’t tell the full story as it is been Halep who has come out on top in the last two meetings. The most recent of the meetings was back in Montreal last year with Halep absolutely cruising to a victory on the hard court.
Prediction
Even though she has had her back to the wall a bit so far in the tournament we have to side with Halep. Williams was no match for her last year when they met and these early trials for Halep in this tournament will only serve to make her stronger.
Williams is the underdog and she has been pushed hard as well. As long as Halep doesn’t let this get to a deciding set, she may be alright. Halep to win 2-0 in set betting at 11/10 odds* (betting odds taken from bet365 on January 17th, 2019 at 10:52 pm)
