Wimbledon 2022 preview: Badosa v Halep

Spanish No.4 seed Paula Badosa and 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep will meet in a hotly-anticipated fourth round at the All England Club on Monday.

Badosa will be seeking a maiden Wimbledon quarter-final while No.16 seed Halep will be gunning for an 11th consecutive victory at the tournament.

Here’s a close look at this box office match-up.

The build-up

Badosa arrived at Wimbledon with just one grass court match under her belt this season; a loss to world No.169 Jodie Burrage in Eastbourne.

The Spaniard has had a strong opening week at the Championships though, advancing to the fourth round for second consecutive year and without dropping a set.

The 24-year-old was particularly impressive in her 7-5, 7-6(4) win over two-time champion Petra Kvitova on Saturday. Badosa was as clutch as ever, saving 10/11 break points against the grass court master, who won Eastbourne on the eve of Wimbledon last week.

The victory ended Badosa’s six-match losing streak against seeded opposition on grass.

Halep also has yet to a drop set this fortnight. The Romanian former world No.1 was not given the opportunity to defend her title due to the cancellation of the Championships in 2020 when the pandemic struck. A calf injury kept her out of action during last year’s Wimbledon, which means Halep is competing on grass for the first time since 2019 this campaign.

She has won her last 10 matches at the All England Club and is 9-1 on grass in 2022, with semi-finals in Birmingham and Bad Homburg reached in the build-up to Wimbledon.

Experience on grass

Halep is making her 10th Wimbledon appearance and is 27-8 win-loss at the tournament.

The 30-year-old is 45-16 overall on grass at tour level and owns two titles on the surface.

Badosa is competing in the Wimbledon main draw for the third time, is 6-2 at the Championships and 8-7 lifetime at tour level on grass.

“It's not my favourite surface, but playing in Wimbledon, I really like it. It's a little bit different as the other tournaments coming through here. I never felt bad playing here, to be honest, not even in juniors or last year,” said Badosa.

Head-to-head

Halep is ranked 18 in the world at the moment and is still searching for her best form after contemplating retirement recently on the back of a difficult 2021 campaign, hampered by injuries. She’s feeling good entering the fourth round though.

“It is always a pleasure to play at Wimbledon and I have great memories, so I am trying to enjoy each day. It helps a lot that I could won this tournament. I have confidence,” said Halep.

The two-time major winner owns two top-10 wins this season, one of which came against Badosa on clay in Madrid. It was the first and only meeting between the pair, and Halep won it easily.

“I have a very tough draw. It's like I'm playing Grand Slam champions every match. But still, I like these kind of matches,” said Badosa, who is 3-2 against top-20 players in 2022.

“I played Simona in Madrid. I think she played unbelievable in that match. I hope she doesn't play like that next one against me. I think she likes to play against me. I think my game, she likes to play against players like that. Well, I will try to face the match different and let's see how it goes.”

Halep has broken serve 16 times at these Championships and has spent just 3hr 38min on court through three matches.

Badosa dropped serve just three times this fortnight, has won 75 per cent of her first-serve points and has spent a total of 4hr 13min on court.