A FORMER world number one and Grand Slam winner will reach the final of the Australian Open following victories by Romanian fourth seed, Simona Halep and Spain’s Garbine Muguruza yesterday. The pair faces off this afternoon for a chance to win the title at Melbourne Park, one Slam event that has evaded them to-date.

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Age: 28 | 26
Height: 168cm | 183cm
Ranking: 3 | 32
Titles: 19 | 7
Grand Slam Titles: 2 | 2
Best Aus Open Result: F (18′) | QF (17′)

Despite the carnage that has been the women’s draw at this year’s Australian Open, fourth seed Simona Halep has managed to stay on course and reach the final four at the event. Joining her is a player whose talents are much greater than her 32nd ranking might give her credit for, having matched it with the world’s best for many years now, and like Halep, has won a couple of Grand Slam titles. Garbine Muguruza is still only 26-years-old and will always be a threat at the majors with a good record across the board, winning on both clay and grass, though she has struggled on hard court with just a fourth round exit at the US Open and a quarter finals loss here at Melbourne Park her best result thus far. She has already exceeded her best run in Melbourne, while Halep needs two more wins to achieve that feat – having lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the final back here in 2018. Like Muguruza, she has not been as effective on hard court as she has been on clay and grass, winning at Wimbledon last year after a Roland Garros victory in 2018. Aside from the final two years ago, she has made the two quarter finals in nine years, while at the US Open, she made a semi-final and quarter final in 2015-16, before losing in the first two rounds over the past three attempts.

The last time these two players faced off was at Roland Garros in 2018 – also in a semi-final – where Halep went on to win her maiden Grand Slam title. In that match, the top seeded Halep defeated the fourth seeded Muguruza, 6-1 6-4. A year earlier, it was the Spaniard who had got the chocolates, winning in Cincinnati in a complete domination, 6-1 6-0. At Stuttgart in 2015, the Romanian triumphed in a come-from-behind win, reversing the result from earlier in the season where she lost to Muguruza in straight sets at the Fed Cup. In the matches played between the pair, the Spaniard leads 3-2, though one of those was a walkover in the 2018 Doha semi-final where she went on to lose in the decider. Last season, Muguruza only won the one title – Monterrey – while Halep also only won the one, but picked a good one in Wimbledon. Having been a finalist here at Melbourne Park before, Halep has the experience and based on form, it is hard to fault the world number four, who will be second overall post-Open regardless of this result. For the Spaniard, she is already into the top 20 with the move boosting her 12 places, with a win here moving her to 16th, and a Grand Slam title moving her all the way up to 12th in the world.

At the 2020 Australian Open it is hard to fault the Romanian, not dropping a set and almost breezing through to the final four. While her first three rounds were always expected to not throw too many challenges at her, Halep took out 16th seed Elise Mertens in the fourth round 6-4 6-4 in just over and hour and a half, then stunned the Open fraternity with a 53-minute demolition of the in-form Estonian, Anett Kontaveit who had previously smashed sixth seed, Belinda Bencic 6-0 6-1 in 49 minutes herself. Muguruza has had a more challenging path to the semis, though she also smashed a top player, downing fifth seed Elina Svitolina 6-1 6-2 in just over an hour, and only took a minute longer to send ninth seed, Kiki Bertens packing, 6-3 6-3. After dropping her first set of the tournament to love, Muguruza has only lost one set – in the second round – and has rolled through to face Halep for a spot in the final. Halep will deservingly start favourite in this clash, but this might be her first three-setter of the tournament.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: 5 MEETINGS

Simona Halep 2
Garbine Muguruza 3*

* One was a walkover

ENERGY LEVELS:

Sets dropped: 0 | 2
Time on Court: 6 hrs, 41 mins | 7 hrs, 45 mins

KEY STATISTICS:

– Muguruza is ranked fifth for aces with 23 for the tournament, while Halep is 15th (13)
– Muguruza’s first serve percentage is 76 per cent, putting her equal second overall, while Halep’s is 72 per cent, ranked equal eleventh
– Halep’s won 98 first serve return points, ranking second overall, while Muguruza’s 82 places her equal eighth
– On the second serve return points, Muguruza (60) is ahead in fifth, while Halep (55) is eighth
– Both players are fantastic at winning break points, with Halep (25) and Muguruza (24) second and third respectively.