Elise Mertens vs Simona Halep Prediction & Betting Tips - Madrid, Spain

Prediction published on 03/05/2021, 15:07  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 03/05/2021 at 16:26 in Tennis Predictions

Simona Halep has won the Madrid Open on two previous occasions. The Romanian takes on Elise Mertens in the third round of the 2021 event, the winner facing either Aryna Sabalenka or Jessica Pegula in the quarter final. Halep is yet to win a tournament this year but has been in a couple of quarter finals. Injury has blighted her season so far but there's been promising signs of late. Halep is a former French Open champion and will want as many games in Madrid and Rome before heading to Paris. Her most recent tournament was in Stuttgart, she had two good wins before losing to Aryna Sabalenka. This tournament in Madrid has gone well for her with wins over Sara Sorribes Torma and Zheng Saisai. To say that Halep has got off to good starts in her two straight sets wins is a bit of an understatement. Both matches have seen her win the first set 6-0. 

Elise Mertens is seeded 13th for the Madrid Open, while her opponent is third, behind Barty and Osaka. The Belgain has already won one tournament this year and got to the final on clay in Istanbul recently. She was the top seed for that event and lost to Sorana Cirstea (ranked 67th that week) in the final. Mertens won the Gippsland Trophy at the start of this year and since then has reaached a semi-final and that recent final. She's been in five WTA Tour finals, winning two but none have been as high profile as those won by her opponent. This is her first time past the second round of the Madrid Open. Mertens has had straight sets wins over Zhang Shuai and Elina Rybakina to finally make it to the third round. She will need to improve her record against Halep though, with only one of five previous meetings won. Halep looks in good form this week, back her to get the win.