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Match details
Fixture: (2) Simona Halep vs (3) Veronika Kudermetova
Date: 9 January 2022
Tournament: Melbourne Summer Set 1, 2022
Round: Final
Venue: Melbourne, Australia
Category: WTA 250
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $239,477
Match timing: Not before 5 pm local time, 6 am GMT, 11.30 am IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Simona Halep vs Veronika Kudermetova preview
Second seed Simona Halep will take on third seed Veronika Kudermetova in the final of the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set on Sunday.
After spending three months on the sidelines due to injury, Halep made an underwhelming return to the tour at the end of 2021. The Romanian suffered early exits in Montreal, Linz, Cincinnati, Indian Wells and Moscow, but did manage to reach the final in Cluj-Napoca.
But the former World No. 1 has hit the ground running in 2022. The 30-year-old won her first two matches in Melbourne in straight sets, before eking out a tough three-set victory against Viktorija Golubic in the quarterfinals. The Romanian advanced to the final after defeating Qinwen Zheng 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday.
Kudermetova also failed to make much of an impact in singles last year, posting a win-loss record of 25-21. She did, however, enjoy a lot of success in doubles, reaching the final at Wimbledon.
The Russian has started 2022 on a positive note. After defeating Viktoria Kuzmova in two tie-breakers in the first round in Melbourne, she outlasted both Madison Brengle and Anastasia Popatova in three sets. She advanced to the final courtesy a walkover from Naomi Osaka on Saturday.
Simona Halep vs Veronika Kudermetova head-to-head
The final in Melbourne will be the third encounter between the two players, with Simona Halep leading the head-to-head 2-0 over Veronika Kudermetova.
Both previous meetings took place last year. Halep prevailed in their third-round encounter at the Australian Open and second-round match in Moscow in straight sets.
Simona Halep vs Veronika Kudermetova prediction
Simona Halep has looked in good form all week and is the favourite on paper. The 30-year-old served well in all of her matches this week and did not look in any trouble physically.
Kudermetova, on the other hand, has looked quite shaky en route to the final. The Russian, however, possesses the weapons to trouble Halep. She is aggressive from the baseline and can come forward to end points early. Her serve is also quite reliable, and Halep is unlikely to get too many free points during the encounter.
Kudermetova is by far the toughest opponent for Halep this week, but the Romanian is in red-hot form and could just clinch her first title since the 2020 Italian Open.
Prediction: Simona Halep to win in three sets.
