Serena Williams vs. Simona Halep: Sports Betting Preview for Women’s Wimbledon Final

Jul 11, 2019 - 10:52 PM

The Women’s Wimbledon Final is a heavyweight clash of former World No. 1 players. Arguably the greatest women’s player of all-time, 11^th seed Serena Williams vies to tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles as she faces 7^th seed Simona Halep on Saturday morning.

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How they got here:

Serena Williams def. G. Gatto-Monticone 6-2, 7-5

• K. Juvan 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
• J. Gorges 6-3, 6-4
• C. Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2
• A. Riske 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
• B. Strycova 6-1, 6-2

Simona Halep def. A. Sasnovich 6-4, 7-5

• M. Buzarnescu 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
• V. Azarenka 6-3, 6-1
• C. Gauff 6-3, 6-3
• S. Zhang 7-6, 6-1
• E. Svitolina 6-1, 6-3

Serena Williams’s Grand Slam history: Williams has a 23-8 record in Grand Slam Finals. She has reached her 11^th Wimbledon Final where she has a 7-3 record. Serena has lost her last two Grand Slam finals, and four of her last six.

Simona Halep’s Grand Slam history: Halep has a 1-3 record in Grand Slam Finals, with her lone win coming at the 2018 French Open. This is Halep’s first Wimbledon Final.

Head-to-head history: Serena Williams has a 9-2 career record against Simona Halep. Serena has won the last five meetings. Serena won their only meeting on a grass court at Wimbledon in 2011 in the Round of 4 (3-6, 6-2, 6-1).

Here is a look at the current odds (courtesy of FanDuel) and best bets for the championship:

Serena Williams (-194) vs. Simona Halep (+164)
Both Williams and Halep played their best tennis of the tournament in their semifinal matches, easily cruising in straight sets. Many had concerns about Serena’s fitness coming into the tournament, as she hadn’t made it past the quarterfinals in any tournament this year and withdrew in the third round due to injury in two other tournaments (Miami, Rome). Strycova tried testing Serena’s fitness with an arsenal of slices, drop shots, and serve-and-volley to no avail. Serena was not on the court long in her semifinal match, winning in just 59 minutes. Williams may have caught another break in losing her latest Mixed Doubles match with Andy Murray, as she can now rest and focus all attention on the Single’s championship.

Halep’s best surface historically is clay where she won her only Grand Slam, and appeared in two other finals. Before this year, Halep’s best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the semifinals in 2014. She has said throughout this tournament that she is getting more and more comfortable on grass. Her draw was made easier when Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniaki, Venus Williams and Madison Keys all suffered early upsets. Halep did not face a seeded player in the tournament until facing eighth seeded Svitolina in the semifinals.

Best Bet: Serena Williams to win 2 sets to 1 (+260)
Serena Williams has Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles in sight, and she is not about to squander that opportunity at her most favorite tournament. Williams appears to be fully healthy from lingering injuries, and nothing will stop her on her path to her eighth Wimbledon title. Halep’s breakthrough on grass is something to note, as she has dropped just one the entire tournament, so she will make Serena work. Given that 4 of the 11 prior meetings between Williams and Halep have gone the distance, there is value in betting this match to do the same. In what should be a thrilling final, take Serena Williams over Simona Halep in three sets.

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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.

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