Birmingham 2022: Simona Halep vs Katie Boulter preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Rothesay Classic 

Match Details

Fixture: (2) Simona Halep vs Katie Boulter

Tournament: Rothesay Classic Birmingham 2022

Round: Quarterfinals

Date: June 17

Venue: Birmingham, United Kingdom

Category: WTA 250

Surface: Grass

Prize money: €223,476

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Simona Halep vs Katie Boulter preview

Second seed Simona Halep and Katie Boulter will lock horns in the quarterfinals of the Birmingham Classic on Friday.

Halep is off to a fine start in her first tournament of the grass season swing, easing past her Lessia Tsurenko and Harriet Dart en route to the quarterfinals.

Halep entered the tournament on the back of a disappointing second-round exit at the French Open, but did make the semifinals at Indian Wells and the quarterfinals in Madrid, which were her stand-out performances in the last two months.

The 30-year old started the year on a high with a title-winning campaign at the Melbourne Summer Set, beating Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 6-3 in the finals, but hasn't been able to consolidate since then.

Even after not playing to her best potential, the Romanian has a first-class win ratio of 73 percent in 2022.

Wildcard Katie Boulter has been the lighting rod in this tournament so far. She shocked seventh seed Alison Riske in the first round and continued her emphatic run in Birmingham with a compelling 7-6(5), 6-1 win over Caroline Garcia.

Boulter performed exceptionally well to make the main draw in Nottingham and followed it up with a comeback win over Tatjana Maria in the first round, but ran out of steam against Ajla Tomljanovic in the second, which put an end to her motivating three-match win streak.

The Brit has only played eight matches in the main draw with a win ratio of 50 percent. However, she does have an ITF title to her name this season, winning the W60 Grenoble in February.

Simona Halep vs Katie Boulter head-to-head

Halep and Boulter have never faced each other. Their head-to-head is locked at 0-0.

Simona Halep vs Katie Boulter odds

Player Name	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Simona Halep	-500	-3.5(-225)	Under 20.5(-130)
Katie Boulter	+340	+3.5(+160)	Over 20.5(-110)

All odds are sourced by BetMGM.

Simona Halep vs Katie Boulter prediction

Seasoned campaigner Halep is slowly getting back to her best form and will be the overwhelming favourite heading into this contest.

The former World No. 1 was slow to start her match against Dart and lost her serve in the opening game, but quickly stamped her authority on the local favorite, sealing the first set with back-to-back aces. Halep won 84 percent of her first serve points and got the job done in just over an hour to register her second win on grass.

Boulter put up a dominant performance against Garcia. Both players went toe-to-toe with each other in the first set, but the Brit got the better of her opponent in the tie-break and humbled her in the next half hour. She won 72 percent of her first serve points and saved two out of three break points.

She's been playing some aggressive tennis lately, with the ability to find the lines on a consistent basis. With a 55 percent success ratio, the World No. 141 performs better on grass than other surfaces.

However, Halep had the ability to shift gears in her last game, showing she has a lot more to offer against top-class opponents. She pulled off some eye-opening winners on the run, showcasing her abilities as a top level athlete. The 2019 Wimbledon winner is up against a tricky opponent, but should have enough in her arsenal to get through.

Pick: Halep to win in three sets.