Tuesday was a little more frustrating than Monday, but these things happen and I am not going to be negative about a week which is still producing a positive return.
The Miami Masters has reached the business end of the tournament with the WTA Premier Event Semi Final line up being put together by the end of Wednesday and the first of the ATP Masters Quarter Final matches also scheduled to be played.
There are five matches scheduled to be played on Wednesday as we get down to the final few days of the first half of the hard court season. The next hard court events on the main Tour will be played at the end of July when we will begin the run towards the US Open, and many players exiting in Miami will be heading to Europe and beginning preparation for the clay court season which will begin next week.
Simona Halep - 3.5 games v Qiang Wang: Winning two matches to reach a Premier Event Quarter Final is rare, but that is the case for Qiang Wang who has benefited from Serena Williams being forced to withdraw from the tournament in Miami. Wins over Johanna Konta and Yafan Wang have come in straight sets, but this is a step up for Wang against a player who is chasing to return to World Number 1 ahead of her favourite time of the season.
Simona Halep is a quality operator on the hard courts, but I don't think it is wrong to suggest that the clay courts are her favoured surface. The two month run to the French Open begins at the end of this week, but Halep has remained very consistent and can return to World Number 1 if she wins the title in Miami after Naomi Osaka's early exit.
The Romanian has dropped one set in three matches so far this week and Halep dominated Venus Williams in a comfortable win. This is a match in which the Halep serve will be tested, but she is returning very well in the conditions in Miami which may suit her game and I think that returning ability is going to put Qiang Wang under some pressure.
I have no doubt that Wang is an improved player, but she has yet to really put wins together against the very best players on the WTA Tour on the hard courts. A 10-10 record against top 20 opponents on this surface over the last fifteen months isn't horrible, but her numbers have taken a big dent compared to her overall hard court ones when she has been in those matches.
You can't completely draw a line through Wang considering her own ability to return serve, but I do thinK Simona Halep has an edge over her on that side of her game. I expect that will show up in this match and I can see Halep edging Wang out with at least one more break of serve in each set of a straight sets win and I think she is worth backing to cover the slightly smaller spread being offered by a couple of layers.
The odds are reflected in that smaller handicap, but I like Halep in this Quarter Final.
MY PICKS: Simona Halep - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Miami Update: 6-3, + 4.38 Units (18 Units Staked, + 24.33% Yield)
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