The final of the WTA Toronto 1000 pits two of the most-improved players on tour in 2022. Former world #1 Simona Halep will take on surprise finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia. Halep recovered in time due to heat-related issues from Washington and dazzled her way into the final, dropping just one set. But she will face a stern test of her title credentials against the high-flying Haddad Maia, who is targeting to become the first Brazilian woman to win a WTA 1000 tournament. Who will prevail?
WTA Toronto Final Prediction
Simona Halep vs Beatriz Haddad Maia
Head-to-head: Halep 2-1 Haddad Maia
Halep and Haddad Maia will cross swords for the third time this season and fourth overall in their head-to-head. Halep has enjoyed a career resurgence in 2022 quelling speculation about retirement. She endured an injury-ravaged 2021 season in which she failed to win a WTA title for the first time since 2012. Spurred on by that disappointment, Halep was back in the winner’s circle this year, ending her title drought in emphatic fashion in the opening week of the season at the Melbourne Summer Set 1.
She has since reached the semifinals or better in six of her next 12 tournaments, culminating with a return to the world’s top 10 following her sizzling run to the final of the WTA Toronto Open. Haddad Maia, like Halep, has put together a tremendous season on the WTA Tour. The Brazilian southpaw came to Toronto at a career-high #24 in the world as a result of winning back-to-back titles on grass. And she tore every pre-tournament script apart after knocking out four seeds to reach the biggest final of her career this week. The most high-profile win came in the third round when she defeated top seed Iga Swiatek in three sets.
Haddad Maia had to piece a comeback in the second set of her 6-4 7-6 win over Karolina Pliskova in the semifinal. Consequently, she extended the best performance by a Brazilian woman in a WTA 1000 event and she is projected to enter the top 20 for the first time. Halep will need to serve at a consistently high level-which was not the case against Pegula. Her first serve dropped as low as 59% and coughed up 10 double faults. As Swiatek can attest, she paid a hefty price against the Brazilian’s punishing ground strokes for putting up such numbers.
Expect Halep to polish up her first serve and work hard behind the return with her extraordinary court coverage. Haddad Maia has scored three top-10 wins this season and comes to the final with a ton of momentum. She has played with greater dexterity and resilience even with her back against the wall. You cannot write her off, especially when you consider she has beaten Halep on the lawns of Birmingham and pulled off a statement win in each round this week. Halep is the favorite, but the upset is very much on the table here.
Prediction: Haddad Maia in 3
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
