SImona Halep faces Paula Badosa and Karolina Pliskova takes on Donna Vekic in the Ro128 at the 2024 edition of the WTA Tour’s Miami Open. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 WTA Tour – WTA 1000
Miami Open
Hard Rock Stadium
Selected Ro128 Matches – Tuesday 19 March
Simona Halep 21/20 | Paula Badosa 72/100
This looks set to be a mouth-watering clash between two women at intriguing points in their respective careers. Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep returns to action after having a four-year doping suspension reduced to just nine months on appeal.
The Romanian hasn’t played for well over a year and it will be interesting to see what level she produces this week. The 24-time WTA Tour champion has reached the quarter-final stage or better on four occasions in Miami. She actually reached the semi-finals of this event when it was first staged at the Hard Rock Stadium back in 2019.
But it is impossible to gauge what kind of level we should expect from the Romanian. She has always struck me as a feisty competitor and she will be hoping for a statement win to vindicate her successful appeal. It won’t get any easier for her if she were to scrape past Badosa: she would face Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 64 should she progress.
Halep couldn’t have handpicked a better opponent in her comeback match. 26-year-old Spaniard Paula Badosa has been riddled with injury for the past year or so and I’m starting to doubt whether we will ever see her reach her true potential again.
She has been forced to withdraw from three tournaments this season (she withdrew just hours before her first-round match with Krueger at Indian Wells last time out). It’s especially disappointing given her promising third-round run at the Aussie Open.
She has been hitting balls with sister Jana ahead of this event and I think she probably will take to the court. The 2021 Indian Wells champion reached the quarters here in 2022 and she will be hoping to take advantage of Halep’s protracted absence.
Badosa will be banking on that powerhouse serve as she looks to nurse her way back into regular action.
Verdict: Halep to win in straight sets 31/20
This will be just their third career meeting. The Romanian won both those encounters (though neither of them were played on hardcourts). It’s really hard to gauge this game given Badosa’s injury issues. But I just have the feeling that Halep will be rearing to go this week.
She has the steely determination of a champion and an excellent record on hard surfaces. These Miami courts were a little bit quicker than usual last year and I think that plays into Halep’s hands.
Karolina Pliskova 13/20 | Donna Vekic 12/10
This promises to be an absolute slugfest between two big-serving hardcourt specialists. Former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova had a season to forget last year and she has done really well to claw her way back into the top 40 this season.
She has always had issues with mobility (even at the height of her powers). And those issues came to the fore last season as opponents looked to exploit her physicality. But she bounced back from a first-round exit at the Aussie Open, winning her first title in four years at the Transylvania Open.
That actually ignited an 11-match winning streak. She withdrew before her semi-final clash with Swiatek in Qatar and then pushed Gauff to three sets in Dubai. These are all very promising signs for the Czech.
I wouldn’t read too much into her first-round exit to Blinkova at Indian Wells. Those courts are notoriously slow and don’t play into Pliskova’s game at all. Pliskova reached the final here when the event was first staged at the Hard Rock Stadium and she always has a good chance if that serve is ticking over.
Donna Vekic is coming off a decent 2023 season that saw her reach a maiden Aussie Open quarter-final and claim her 4th career title in Monterrey. Much like Pliskova, the big-serving Croat prefers harder surfaces where she can flatten out her groundstrokes.
She- also like Pliskova- tends to favour the forehand and looks to play positive, first-strike tennis. Vekic has been on the brink of some excellent results this year, reaching the semi-finals in Linz and the quarterfinals of the San Diego Open. She also picked up the huge scalp of Sabalenka in Dubai.
She was soundly beaten by Wozniacki at Indian Wells but those sluggish surfaces really have little to offer the flatter hitting of Vekic. However, she has never progressed beyond the third round of this tournament and this isn’t exactly a gimme first-round opponent.
Verdict: Vekic to win in three sets 42/10
Pliskova has a commanding 7-2 head-to-head advantage over Vekic. Having said that, Vekic did thrash Pliskova in their last hardcourt meeting at the 2022 San Diego Open. I think that Donna Vekic has a really good chance of improving that head-to-head disparity.
Pliskova had some strong results earlier this season but it remains to be seen if she can regain her old consistency. I just feel like Vekic has been knocking on the door in recent months and she could edge this one.
