Australian Open 2022: Simona Halep vs Beatriz Haddad Maia preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (14) Simona Halep vs Beatriz Haddad Maia

Date: 20 January 2022

Tournament: Australian Open 2022

Round: Second round (Round of 64)

Venue: Melbourne, Australia

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $75,000,000

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv

Simona Halep vs Beatriz Haddad Maia preview

14th seed Simona Halep will square off against Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round of the 2022 Australian Open on Thursday.

Halep began her quest for a third Grand Slam title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Magdalena Frech. The Romanian was made to work hard, despite what the scoreline might suggest.

The former World No. 1 has been in good form since the start of the season. After struggling with injuries in 2021, she won her 23rd career title at the Melbourne Summer Set in the lead-up to the Australian Open. Given how she's playing at the moment, she's a strong contender for the title.

Beatriz Haddad Maia at the 2019 Australian Open.

Beatriz Haddad Maia, meanwhile, had to battle hard to find a way past qualifier Katie Volynets. The match had frequent momentum shifts but the Brazilian managed to hold her nerve to claim a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win.

With the win, Haddad Maia matched her career-best result at a Grand Slam. She's reached the second round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon twice before, but never progressed further.

Simona Halep vs Beatriz Haddad Maia head-to-head

The two have played once before, with Halep leading 1-0 in the head-to-head. She defeated the Brazilian 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of 2017 Wimbledon.

Simona Halep vs Beatriz Haddad Maia prediction

Halep enters this contest as the overwhelming favorite. She appears to be back to her best and has put her injury concerns well and truly behind her. But the Romanian must guard against complacency when she faces Haddad Maia, who upset former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova at Indian Wells last year.

Halep struggled a little on serve in her first-round match, getting broken four times. But she made up for it by breaking her opponent's serve seven times and winning 54% of receiving points.

Haddad Maia has the advantage of being a lefty, which makes her a tricky player to handle. She likes to dictate play from the baseline and move her opponents around the court. However, she'll find it hard to hit through Halep, whose court coverage remains as impeccable as ever.

The two-time Grand Slam champion should be able to withstand the Brazilian's challenge and advance to the third round.

Prediction: Simona Halep to win in straight sets.

Also check out: Updated WTA WoMen's Tennis Rankings

About the author

Rohit is a journalist at Sportskeeda who specializes in covering tennis. Having been with the company for four years, he has proven himself as a formidable force in the field. With a Master's degree in law, Rohit brings his analytical and research skills to the forefront as a journalist. He stays on top of the game by using social media platforms and never misses a match for on-court insights. He values giving credit where it's due, keeping his reporting fair and accurate.

At the outset of his career, Rohit found his niche in writing previews and SEO pieces and it's this expertise that continues to define his role at Sportskeeda. He is particularly proud of one article that garnered an impressive 750k views and surpassed his "wildest dreams." Rohit is not particularly fond of (GOAT) debates and it is one of the reasons why he left the legal world behind. He prefers to view players in "tiers," where they're all esteemed to an extent. However, if pressed to name favorites, he would choose Serena and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters' journey from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of tennis has been his greatest source of inspiration.

When he isn't busy making spot-on predictions about match outcomes, Rohit likes reading, particularly fantasy, sci-fi, and comics. As an X-Men fanatic, he's also passionate about board games and enjoys watching movies in his spare time. And don't be surprised if you catch him silently wishing to the tennis gods for the removal of ad scoring from doubles.

Know More

Edited by Arvind Sriram