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Simona Halep vs Elise Mertens Tennis Prediction

In this first meeting between Halep and Mertens, someone’s 13-match winning streak will be broken, making this match a high-stake encounter. Halep, the favorite of the tournament, will have the pressure to not only defend her title, but also to have a good week on clay before the French Open.

Simona Halep News

A blockbuster encounter in the second round awaits as Simona Halep, who is on a 13-match winning streak at Madrid, takes on Elise Mertens, who has won back-to-back titles (at Lugano and Rabat), and is on a 13-match winning streak this season.
Halep last suffered a defeat at Madrid in 2015, when as the second seed she was upset by #27 Cornet in the first round. Since then, she has dropped just four sets against 13 opponents (12 of them were top 50) she has met en route to lifting this Premier Mandatory twice.
Bidding for her seventh WTA clay title, Halep started the campaign with the familiar face of Makarova, to whom she had trounced at Doha this season. The Romanian trashed the world #33 once again in 50 minutes (6-1 6-0), winning 30 more total points at the end.
The 2018 Australian Open runner-up has reached quarterfinal stage (or better) in all tournaments she has participated this year, except Miami (l. Radwanska). The world #1 is coming off with a last eight loss to Stuttgart’s eventual finalist Vandeweghe.

Elise Mertens News

Elise Mertens, a day after claiming her fourth WTA title at Rabat (Morocco), secures a straight-set win over fellow Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck. The world #16 had to face eleven break points over the span of five service games (saved 9/11).
The Rabat title made the 22-year-old the season-win leader (25 wins), along with Petra Kvitova. Moreover, the Madrid debutante arrives at the tournament becoming the first to cross double-digit clay wins in the season, currently at 13.
The Belgian started the season by defending the Hobart International, the title which gave Mertens her breakthrough in the 2017 season. She followed it up by becoming the first Belgian to reach an Australian Open semifinal since Kim Clijsters (2012).

Tennis Prediction: Simona Halep
Odds: 1.43