The second round of the Mutua Madrid Open is in play today. Due to the current depth of the WTA field, we have some exciting matches between top-caliber players. Let’s take a look at these matches and find winning a tennis pick.
Simona Halep vs. Paula Badosa
Saturday, April 30, 2022 – 01:00 PM EDT at Manolo Santana Stadium
Paula Badosa
Paula Badosa is a popular Spanish player who is currently ranked number 2 in the world. Badosa will enjoy home-court advantage today and what will be the most exciting match of the second round.
Badosa was able to overcome Veronika Kudermetova in her first-round match. The match started very close with Badosa getting the late break to win the first set 6-3. She took over and completely controlled the second set to win in a dominating 6-0 fashion. Badosa showed that she is ready to make a run in front of her home fans.
For the 2022 season, Badosa is 21-9 with a hold percentage of 71.7% and a break percentage of 40.5%. For her career on clay, Badosa is 33-15 with a hold percentage of 70.7% and a break percentage of 42.9%.
Simona Halep
Paula Badosa's path gets even tougher today, however, going against two-time Mutua Madrid Open champion Simona Halep. Halep won the tournament in 2016 and 2017 and is one of three active players to be a former champion here in Madrid.
Halep is a former world number one who excels in the defensive aspect of tennis. She is one of the quickest players on tour and her court coverage is quite exceptional. Halep is known for her impregnable consistency from the baseline. It is very hard to get Simona Halep to make unforced errors.
At the beginning of her career, Halep was purely a defensive player but in order to rise to the top of the WTA tour, she needed to improve on her aggressive nature. Now Halep is able to take over points when opponents try to use weak shots or to "push" against her. Halep used to be passive from the baseline but now she will take advantage of any opportunity. She has mastered the art of controlled aggression.
Join Now: $1,000 BMR 12-Week All Sports Challenge
At only 5 ft 6, Simona Halep is at a disadvantage against some of the taller, more athletic players on the tour. Height is exceptionally important for a tennis player when it comes to the serve. Being a taller player, with a longer wingspan, allows them to hit down and generate more force when serving the ball.
Halep has made the most of this disadvantage and has turned her serve into a weapon. Her improvement on serve was the final piece of the puzzle that allowed her to become world number 1 and a Grand Slam champion. Halep now can dial-up serves with plenty of pace, and her precision and placement are still excellent. Her ability to keep pace on serve with the best servers on tour has been the difference in her game.
Halep might not get as many service aces as a taller, more natural server like her opponent, Paula Badosa. She will win just as many of her first serve points because she so often puts herself in an advantageous position just by landing her first serve.
Simona Halep also looked excellent in her first-round match against Shuai Zhang. Halep is currently the world's number 21. At 30 years of age, these next two seasons represent Halep's best chance to make a run at another grand slam title.
BMR Community: Men's and Women's Tennis Betting Forum
Halep's game is so predicated on quickness, that as she ages it is going to be tough for her to compete at the very highest level. Watching her match against Shuai Zhang yesterday, however, you can see is the quickness is still there and she's still got a chance to compete for at least two more seasons.
The clay in Madrid plays quicker than the normal clay court so as good as she looked against Zhang, she has a better chance to do well in Rome and then of course on the ultra-slow clay of Roland Garros. Regardless, this tournament represents a great chance for Halep to get into the swing of things on her preferred surface of the clay.
For the 2022 season, Halep is 16-5 with a hold percentage of 78.7% and a break percentage of 48.8%. For her career on clay, Halep is 141-52 with a hold percentage of 71% and a break percentage of 52.5%.
Halep has struggled with injuries post-pandemic, however. She has been forced to take time off with multiple lower-body injuries. Unfortunately because of this, Halep is not at the same level of elite play that she once was.
The Pick
This will be a tough task for her going today against Paula Badosa, who is in the best physical condition and form of her life. While Halep has more accomplishments and is more experienced, I believe that Badosa will be the one to get the victory today.
Badosa’s form is too good right now and playing in her comfortable home of Madrid, she is definitely using the crowd support and familiar surroundings to her advantage.
Following the WTA odds, our bet for today's WTA Mutua Madrid Open is Paula Badosa ML with one of the best sportsbooks.
WTA Pick: Paula Badosa ML (-117) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
