Mats Wilander considers Simona Halep (27 years old – 6th place WTA) superior to Elina Svitolina (24 years old – 7th place WTA) in every chapter and believes that the Romanian can produce the big surprise at Wimbledon and win her second Grand Slam. It seems that Mats Wilander has never praised Simona Halep so much, especially since the tournament takes place on grass, a surface that so far did not seem to the Romanian’s liking.
After what I saw, I can say that the match should be easy for Simona. Svitolina has reached the semifinals for the first time and it is clear that something has changed in her game, in terms of tactics. She is also followed by her boyfriend, Gael Monfils, who certainly has a certain contribution in her change.
Gael has a greater power of persuasion over her and teaches her what to do and how to do it. Halep is better than her in every chapter, so Svitolina has to be creative”, said Mats Wilander, Eurosport analyst.
“Simona Halep only met inferior players”
“I saw yesterday that Elina was coming close to the net and trying all kinds of things, and that’s 100% Gael’s influence, for sure. Svitolina would respond better to her boyfriend’s advice than to the coach’s. If he approaches the match differently than how he usually plays, then yes, he can have a chance ,” Wilander said.
“Simona plays very well. My only concern is that she hasn’t played any strong players in this tournament so far. She only played with athletes below her. It is not difficult to see how she will approach the match with Svitolina. If she were to play with Serena, the American would not give her time to gather herself” .
“Simona Halep can win Wimbledon”
“Can Halep bring something new to her game? I’m not sure, even if it seems like she’s a little more free, more creative, I’ve noticed subtle changes in her approach. Subtle changes in the sense that he accepted that he will make more mistakes if he plays more aggressively” , the Eurosport specialist added.
“Simona can win Wimbledon. I saw how Serena introduced herself. I think the players have started to understand that she is almost 38 years old, that she has a child and that they can push . “
- Mats Wilander won the Australian Open 3 times, Roland Garros 3 times and the US Open once
Simona Halep-Elina Svitolina. The Ukrainian is 4-3 in head-to-head meetings
Halep and Svitolina have met 7 times so far, the score being 4-3 in favor of the Ukrainian, who is now in the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career. Halep won the last meeting, this year in the semifinals in Doha, with 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, but the reference match remains the one from Roland Garros 2017. In the quarterfinals in Paris, Simona was led by a set and 5-1 , to prevail after a superb comeback, 3-6, 7-6, 6-0.
When asked about that match, Svitolina said that she got over that setback, and a lot of time has passed since then.
