Simona Halep and Karin Knapp will open up day four action at the Mutua Madrid Open as they will take Manolo Santana for their second round matchup. The will clash for their second career meeting, but their first on a European red clay surface. The Romanian and the Italian are both looking to recover from first round losses last week when they suit up for a spot in the last 16 in the beloved Spanish capital.
First Round Victories
Halep had an interesting challenge ahead of her in her opening round when she took center stage against Misaki Doi. But the Japanese lefty failed to win more than three games off the sixth seed. The Romanian's confident returning and dominance of her first serve will prove to be a challenge in her match, or matches, to come.
Knapp picked up her first main draw win of the year after she battled past the unique game of Margarita Gasparyan in three grueling sets. The Italian fired three aces and won 65 percent of her serve points en route to the taxing victory. Knapp's last two WTA finals have come on the red dirt, and it showed in her two hour win over a top 50 opponent.
Previous Meeting
The Romanian-Italian matchup have only took the court against each other once in the past, with the sixth seed, Halep, having won their first round match at last year's Australian Open in convincing fashion. Halep utilized her skills on the run en route to the routine victory, as well as keeping the ball out of the hard-hitting Italian's strike zone. Both players are in different stages of their career than they were last January, but their past match could be dangling in the back of the world number seven's mind, which could bring confidence to her recent letdowns on the tennis court.
Analysis
The top-ranked Romanian will control her own destiny when it comes time for her to go head-to-head against the Italian. Halep must take control of the center of the court and utilize her angles to keep Knapp on the run. Halep's first serve percentage will be crucial, as well, with her last match seeing her just win five points off her ineffective second serve. If she can hold serve consistently, the match will deem heavy in her favor as she is bound to find opportunities on return. Last, but not least, the Romanian will need to keep a steady, positive attitude and keep her on-court frustrations to an extreme minimum.
Knapp's serve and movement will ultimately decide her chances of beating the 2014 Roland Garros finalist. The Italian also must target the Halep forehand as it is one of the world number seven's few weaknesses. The 28-year-old should look to take advantage of the Romanian's weak second serve, which will sit right in the strike zone of Knapp. In conclusion to Knapp's keys to success, belief will be the important factor as she must put her recent struggles behind her and enter Manolo Santana with a fresh, optimistic mindset.
Final Thoughts
The second round encounter should make for interesting points of aggressiveness countered by defense. If Halep can dictate play with confidence as she did in round one, there would be nothing stopping her from reaching the third round as she did en route to the finals two years ago.
Prediction: Halep over Knapp in two straightforward sets.
