The complexion of the WTA Melbourne Summer Set changed just before the semifinals when Naomi Osaka withdrew with a slight abdominal injury. Osaka stated that the break she took from the sport meant that her body wasn’t able to adapt to the intensity of back-to-back matches just yet. But there still promises to be plenty of entertaining action in the final when Simona Halep takes on Veronika Kudermetova. As always, we here at LWOT are offering our preview and prediction, but who will come out on top?
WTA Melbourne Summer Set 1 Final Prediction
Simona Halep vs Veronika Kudermetova
Head-to-head: Halep 2-0 Kudermetova
Halep is the favorite here, no doubt about it. She was in no mood to mess around in her semifinal against Zheng Qinwen, losing only five games in a comprehensive straight-sets victory. There is little hope for Kudermetova in the previous meetings between the two either. She is yet to win a set in the two matches they have played. Both matches were in 2021 on fast surfaces so there is little by way of mitigation there for the Russian. However, the last set they played, in October, was the closest at 7-6. Maybe she’s getting closer.
With this being a final one would expect stakes to be raised somewhat. This is a big opportunity for Kudermetova to establish herself in the upper echelons of the women’s game. However, Halep’s motivation looks to be really strong this year and the Romanian is a very hard to player to live with when she is on song. She will believe that she is still one of the best players in the world and will be looking to prove that in the rankings in 2022 after a disappointing campaign last season. Expect Halep to use her magnificent movement to get to enough Kudermetova groundstrokes to make it too difficult for the Russian to win enough points.
Prediction: Halep in 3
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