Simona Halep vs. Ons Jabeur 2/19/20 - Dubai Tennis Championships Picks & Predictions
Last Updated: 02/18/2020 at 4:54 PM ET
In the second round of the 2020 WTA Dubai Tennis Championships, Simona Halep is set to play against Ons Jabeur from Tunisia.
Ons Jabeur won her opening match in 3 sets as she defeated Alison Riske from the United States. It was a close match for Ons Jabeur but the Tunisian won a vital break point in the final set which allowed her to secure the victory. During the win, Ons Jabeur impressed with her serving as she won close to 80% of her service games. It has been a strong start to 2020 for Jabeur as she made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. During the Australian Open, Ons Jabeur defeated the likes of Wang Qiang, Johanna Konta and Caroline Wozniacki. Despite her recent form, Ons Jabeur is expected to be challenged during this match as she is playing against the number 1 seed.
Looking at Simona Halep, the Romanian superstar received a bye in the opening round due to her high ranking. It has been a good season for Simona Halep as she made the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International and the semifinals of the Australian Open. Halep would have hoped to win both tournaments but despite the results, she will feel that she is in good form. WTA Dubai has been a good tournament for Simona Halep as she won the title in 2015 when she defeated Karolina Pliskova in the final. Halep is looking good and she will be hoping to make a big impact at this tournament.
Ons Jabeur and Simona Halep have played each other once in the past with Jabeur winning that match. The fixture was played in 2018 at the China Open where Simona Halep was forced to retire following the first set.
Ons Jabeur has been playing exceptionally well in 2020 and I expect her to cause Simona Halep some problems. That being said, I see Simona Halep winning this match. Halep has looked in outstanding form and her defensive game looks very strong at the moment. I see this being a challenging outing for Halep so I am going to predict that she will win this match in 3 sets.
