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Match Details
Fixture: (WC) Simona Halep vs (7) Anna Blinkova
Date: October 3, 2024
Tournament: Hong Kong Open 2024
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Hong Kong, China
Category: WTA 125
Surface: Hard (Outdoor)
Prize Money: $115,000
Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN
Simona Halep vs Anna Blinkova preview
Former World No. 1 Simona Halep will take on seventh seed Anna Blinkova at the 2024 Hong Kong 125 Open. The Romanian player has played only two matches on the Tour in 2024, as she was suspended for a doping violation which saw her miss the entire 2023 season. Before 2023, the last match she played was at the 2022 US Open, where she lost to Daria Snigur in the first round.
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The two-time Major champion returned to the Tour at the Miami Open, losing to Paula Badosa in the first round. The other match she played was in the Trophee Clarins where she had to retire against McCartney Kessler in the first round. At the Hong Kong Open, the former World No. 1 was given a wildcard. She played a competitive three-set match to win against Arina Radionova in the first round.
Anna Blinkova's 2024 season saw the Russian player knocked out of the early rounds at most of the events she played. She last played at the Jasmin Open, where she lost against Sara Sorribes Tormo in the first round.
The World No. 78 had two quarter-final runs at the San Diego Open (losing to Jessica Pegula), and at the Bad Homburg Open (losing to Viktoriya Tomova). At the Hong Kong Open, she broke an 8-match losing streak when she won against Peangtarn Plipuech in straight sets in the first round.
Simona Halep vs Anna Blinkova head-to-head
This will be the maiden encounter between the two players on the Tour.
Simona Halep vs Anna Blinkova odds
(Odds will be updated once available)
Simona Halep vs Anna Blinkova prediction
Halep has a 68 percent win record on hard courts in her career. She has reached 22 hard-court finals, including the 2018 Australian Open, losing to Caroline Wozniacki. The Romanian has won 13 titles on the surface, the last of which came at the 2022 Canadian Open, winning against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the final. However, it remains to be seen if the Romanian is back at her physical best to notch up consecutive victories on the Tour.
Blinkova has a poor 39 percent win record on hard courts, but her only title of her career has come to this surface, in the 2022 Transylvania Open, beating Jasmine Paolini in the final.
Even though Halep is far from her best, Blinkova's poor record on the hard courts puts the Romanian in a position of advantage in the match.
Pick - Halep to win in straight sets
