2018 Australian Open Women’s Final Betting Preview: Wozniacki vs Halep

It’s not often that the top two seeds in any major draw advance all the way to the finals — but that’s the situation that we have when #1 seed Simona Halep takes on #2 seed Caroline Wozniacki on Saturday. Halep had to save match points in two of her tilts  to get here, while Wozniacki had to save one. Both of them have yet to win their first major — and the winner will hold the #1 ranking in the world. For either of them, this win will mark their next step toward status as an elite player in the women’s game. Check out our tennis betting preview on this matchup before you lock in your wager.

2018 Australian Open Women’s Final Betting Preview: Wozniacki vs Halep

Five years passed between Caroline #Wozniacki’s first and second US Open final. Another three have ticked by ahead of tonight’s decider. Will it be third time lucky? We take an in-depth look at her journey: https://t.co/uOXkszvc6a#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/KzM1FukqUI

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2018

When: Saturday, January 27, 2018, 3:30am ET Where: Melbourne Park, Melbourne TV: ESPN Radio: None Live Stream: WatchESPN Australian Open Odds: Halep -145 / Wozniacki +125

Why should you put your money on Wozniacki?

The two players have met six times, with Wozniacki winning four of those matchups. They last met in Singapore last October, at the WTA Finals, and Wozniacki won with shocking ease, 6-0, 6-2. Her game hasn’t been quite as sharp in Melbourne as it was in Singapore, but her aggressiveness has come to the fore in her game, and each time an opponent has come forward with a challenge, Wozniacki has risen to stop it. In the second round, she found herself down 1-5 in the third set and came all the way back to win. The key for Wozniacki is a savvy defensive game. She is the sort of player that likes to win by letting the other player make the mistakes instead of taking charge of the pace and delivering winners. That has changed, to some degree, in this tournament, but in her matches against Halep, that has been her strategy. Her accuracy has not been quite as solid in Melbourne as it was last October, but that could change in the final. Given the fact that a defensive approach has worked so frequently against Halep, I would expect to see her at least start that way once again in the final.

Why should you put your money on Halep?

Halep has also fought through adversity to get to the final. She faced two match points against Angelique Kerber and three in her match against Lauren Davis, and she was able to turn both of those matches around and advance to the final. In her match against Kerber, she took down an opponent that relies primarily on defense to win — much like Wozniacki does. In the last five games that Halep played against Kerber, she combined aggressive play with accurate shot delivery, a balance that at times eludes her. If she finds a similar sense of balance against Wozniacki, she has an excellent chance to win. Despite the fact that Halep enters this match as the top seed, she also enters as the underdog because of her track record against Wozniacki in the past. She needs to find that balance between driving toward the net, forcing the action to the corners, and getting so out of position that a defensively minded player is able to make her pay for the risks that she takes.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

Both of these players have shown huge promise in this tournament, and both have overcome significant adversity to reach the final. However, given the fact that Wozniacki has won the majority of the meetings between these two, and given that Halep had to work harder in terms of match points saved to get to this point, I see Wozniacki using that combination of defense and the occasional delivery of a killer winner to take this match. I predict that Wozniacki will win 6-4, 7-6, 6-4.