Simona Halep is once again on a positive trend following her 2nd win at Miami over Anett Kontaveit; a young Estonian player ranked as the world no. 112. A compelling performance from Halep 6-3 6-0 is a simple reminder of the fact that over the past three seasons or so, the 25-year-old Romanian player has been a constant presence inside the top 5 WTA. During this time span, she had her ups and down on the professional tour constantly battling with injuries and form. Overall, she pulled out some great result on all surfaces. In 2017, as well as the previous season, her first months on the WTA Tour were far from the level of consistency she can produce.
In Miami, the table is about to be turned the other way around as Simona Halep seems an all-around-the-court player again. She qualified for the 4th round where she is set to play against Samantha Stosur (19 WTA) and the 13th seed in Miami.
Simona Halep vs. Samantha Stosur
Their confrontation's history is hanging pretty much in the balance. Their shared history goes back in 2010 when they first met in a WTA tournament. Overall, the score is 4-4 having Stosur as the winner of their last match-up at the 2016 french open. So far, all those eight matches are evenly split between hardcourt and clay. While on the clay court, the 32-year-old Aussie has a 3-1 lead, when it comes to hard court, Halep won the last three encounters.
Also a hard court, the surface in Miami is known for its significant slowness. Given the circumstances, it's hard to pick a favorite for this particular encounter. The winner of this match may face Johanna Konta (11 WTA) in the next round. Still, Konta must deliver a high-quality tennis in order to get past Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino (72 WTA) who already knocked-out two seeded players, Irina Begu and Madison Keys.
Halep is yet to make an impact in 2017
So far, in 2017, the Romanian's overall stats doesn't look too good as she won 3 matches and lost other 3. In Miami, her best result was a semifinal appearance back in 2015 before losing to Serena Williams in 3 tight sets. Last year, the former 2014 French Open's runner-up, reached the quarterfinals of Miami event.
Her latest match in Miami against Annet Kontaveit was incredible having the Romanian taking full advantage of her superior footwork. In fact, her ability to cover the ground is what used to give her soo many opportunities in the past. A decent level of mobility could propel her into the higher stages of the Premier Mandatory event from Miami.
