The Madrid Open rolls along into the semifinals and so do our tennis picks. On Thursday, we had another productive day in terms of our bankroll as we cashed in with both of our selections. We had Simona Halep to beat Irina Begu and she did so in three sets. We also had Dominika Cibulkova to take care of business against Sorana Cirstea and while she lost the first set, she won the last two and moved on.
After the smoke has cleared, it’s already obvious that the nation of Romania enjoyed the best of this WTA event. The country placed four of its citizens in the quarterfinals, while no other nation offered more than one competitor apiece. Of the four Romanian quarterfinalists, though, only Simona Halep advanced to the semis. It’s her tournament to lose. Let’s see about her match and the opposite semifinal on Friday.
Simona Halep vs. Samantha Stosur
Betting Odds: Halep -250
These are two popular players on tour. They’re respected and are fairly quiet in terms of how they go about their business. Stosur’s struggles have lasted a much longer time and are well documented, but it’s not as though Halep has won a significant tour event in recent times. Her last win was at Indian Wells in 2015, over 13 months ago. She made a number of semifinals and finals in the latter half of 2015, but she could not play her best even when facing some lower-seeded players. She has battled health problems, both in terms of injuries and overall wellness. It’s been a tough road for her.
Both players have a huge opportunity, knowing that in the final, they would play an unseeded opponent. This tournament has turned into a completely unexpected and random series of events, the kind of thing which makes an underdog’s eyes light up. Stosur and Halep could both be nervous for this reason. If you had to pick a player who would be more prone to nerves, it’s Stosur. She has labored for much of her career under the burden that she has to make home fans happy. It’s why she’s never done well at the Australian Open. In Spain on clay, she might not seize up with fear, but it’s still a big event, which puts her at risk of imploding. Halep could do the same, but she has more of a chance of being a championship player in a career which – at age 24 – still has many twists and turns to navigate. It might be hard to say which player will win this match, but it’s a little bit easier to say that Stosur will probably lose this match. Take Halep in three with your tennis picks.
Pick: Halep in three sets
Louisa Chirico vs. Dominika Cibulkova
Betting Odds: Cibulkova -217
This is a matchup of very unlikely semifinalists. Cibulkova beat the top seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, in the first round. She easily could have been gone after round one. Chirico wasn’t even sure she’d be able to play in the qualifying tournament for Madrid, but she flew to Spain in the event that a few other players would drop out and enable her to play in the qualifying rounds. That happened. Chirico won all her qualifying matches to get into the main draw. Once in the main draw, she surprised Ana Ivanovic. Then she got a huge break when Victoria Azarenka withdrew, advancing Chirico to the quarterfinals. She then defeated a good player, Daria Gavrilova, to move on to the semifinals. She is the first teenage American woman to reach a tournament this big since 2003. It’s an amazing story, one which should give Chirico plenty of respect on tour.
However, Cibulkova did beat Radwanska. She’s been solid all week. Why should her form drop now? Either pick makes sense, but Cibulkova should be able to take advantage of this situation in straight sets. The 19-year-old Chirico is an unlikely semifinalist; a finalist would be a lot wilder. Take Cibulkova with your tennis picks.
Pick: Cibulkova in straight sets
