2022 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Best Bets for February 18 (Archive)
We are down to the semifinals in the WTA Dubai Premier Tournament. The players remaining are in excellent form. The matches have been close and played at a high level. We’ve had a good tournament so far, let’s finish strong. I’m taking a look at February 18’s matches to find the winning tennis pick.
Jelena Ostapenko vs. Simona Halep
Friday, February 18, 2022 – 5:00 AM EST at Center Court
Jelena Ostapenko burst onto the scene in 2017 by becoming the first unseeded woman to win the French Open. Ostapenko played at a ridiculously high level during the tournament and her power was too much for opponents to overcome. Down a set and a break to Simona Halep in the final, Ostapenko just went for it on every shot and was able to raise her level to get the victory. This encapsulates the nature of Ostapenko's game. She is going to go for it on every point, to go for winners. If she is on, she will surely win. If she is not, she will lose. But when Ostapenko plays tennis, the match is always on her racket.
Jelena Ostapenko has become a fan-favorite (she is my personal favorite) for her expressive nature on the court. Ostapenko is not shy and you can definitely see her emotions wax and wane as she works her way through a match. Her revealing facial expressions have endeared her to tennis fans around the world.
Ostapenko's daring style leads to wildly inconsistent results. However, she has found her form here in Dubai and is playing at a very high level. This was evident in the quarterfinal round in which she beat world number 25, Petra Kvitová. Ostapenko was able to prevail 5-7,7-5, 7-6.
It was a very close match with the tiebreaker coming down to the very end, 11-9. Ostapenko finally converted on her fourth match point. She saved one match point in the tense tie-break. For Ostapenko to overcome such an accomplished player and former Grand Slam Champion is proof that her form has returned.
This is Ostapenko's 2nd impressive 3 set tie-break win in this tournament. In the round of 16, she was able to overcome another French Open Champion, Iga Swiatek. Once again, she dropped the first set but was able to come through in the next two sets. This is a good sign for Ostapenko as it shows that she is adjusting to the timing of her opponents and raising her level of play as the match progresses.
Simona Halep has had a much more straightforward route to the semifinal. Halep has yet to drop a set here in Dubai. Her most recent match was a 6-4, 6-3 win over Ons Jabeur. Jabeur is very popular here in Dubai due to her Tunisian heritage. Halep had to overcome a raucous crowd cheering on her opponent. Halep showed nerves of steel and was able to win the match in a routine fashion.
Simona Halep plays the opposite of Jelena Ostapenko. Halep is a model of consistency. She wears down her opponents and rarely makes unforced errors. Halep will be aggressive when needed, but she is quite comfortable being the returner in this match. With Ostapenko as the aggressor and Halep as the defender, both players will be quite comfortable in their roles in this match.
Simona Halep has dealt with many changes in her personal life including becoming married this year. She has spoken of wanting to start a family so who knows how long she will continue to play on the WTA Tour. Halep has made an exorbitant amount of prize money and her new husband has even more money, so she is definitely not playing for money anymore.
She is playing for her love of the sport of tennis. Yet she seems fully focused on her career right now and this is some of the best tennis we have seen from Halep since she was the world number one. I expect Halep to finish her career strong with 100% intensity. She is currently focused on winning and becoming the best player she can be before she retires into quiet family life.
Besides the thrilling French Open final, Simona Halep and Jelena Ostapenko have played one other time, also in 2017. The two women faced each other in Beijing, where Simona Halep won quite handily, 6-2, 6-4. The surface in Beijing is much similar to the surface in Dubai compared to the ultra-slow clay in Roland Garros. Still, matches from 5 years ago have very little predictive value when determining tonight's events.
While I personally would love to see Jelena Ostapenko win here, I do believe the 'over' is the best bet for this match. With the high level that Ostapenko is currently playing, she can surely grab at least a set from the defense of Simona Halep. For Ostapenko to grab a set, she's just going to need to find the form that has carried her all week.
Ostapenko will use her ability to hit blistering winners off both sides of the ball, especially her powerful forehand. Ostapenko has a forehand whose pace can rival the men, and even a great defensive player such as Simona Halep will be helpless if the ball is landing in.
Also, I expect Halep's style to coax some errors from Ostapenko and force her to raise her level. All this adds up to a long match in which we should expect both players to have periods of success. While I slightly favor Halep to win, the way that Ostapenko is playing she can beat anybody, even a great player such as Simona Halep. Therefore, I think the 'over' on the games is the best bet for this WTA Dubai semi-final event. Our Play of the Day is Simona Halep/Jelena Ostapenko 'over' 21 games.
WTA Pick: Halep/Ostapenko Over 21 games (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
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