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Simona Halep: top seed has an edge against Karolina Pliskova

By Harry Floyd

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 22: Simona Halep of Romania serves in her fourth round match against Naomi Osaka of Japan on day eight of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 22, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 22: Simona Halep of Romania serves in her fourth round match against Naomi Osaka of Japan on day eight of the 2018 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 22, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) /
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Simona Halep is set for her quarterfinals matchup at the 2018 Australian Open. The top seed has an edge against her opponent.

Simona Halep is gearing up for her biggest match yet at the Australian Open.

The top seed takes on sixth seeded and former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova. On the 2017 WTA Tour, Pliskova was one of the handful of players in women’s singles to temporarily take the top ranking. It was Halep though who would end the year at No. 1.

Looking at their career head-to-head, Halep has scoreboard. With a 5-2 career record in their WTA singles matches, the Romanian tennis star ought to be considered the favorite. Halep has dropped just one set so far at Melbourne Park. Even after appearing to roll an ankle in her opening round match, nothing has been able to slow down the top seed.

Pliskova is coming off of two consecutive wins against seeded players. Similar to Halep, she has dropped just one set so far at the Australian Open. Last year, Pliskova also reached the quarterfinals where she would fall to Mirjana Lučić-Baroni.

Simona Halep is 5-2 against Karolina Pliskova.

Both Halep and Pliskova represent a strong generation of players in women’s singles tennis. While neither is yet to notch a Grand Slam title on the WTA Tour, whoever advances into the semis could be a top contender moving forward. Already advancing at Melbourne park is second seed and world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki. She is set for a semifinals meeting with Belgium’s Elise Mertens. The other quarterfinals meeting is between Angelique Kerber and Madison Keys. Kerber is the 2016 champion in women’s singles at Melbourne Park. If she can defeat the younger American, she will prove to be a difficult opponent in the semis.

Related Story: Top 10: Men's Singles Tennis

Look for Simona Halep to be the favorite in her quarterfinals match. Pliskova is playing strong tennis so far this month and the top seed cannot discount her. The quarterfinals action goes down later today in Melbourne. Stay tuned to see how Halep and others fare moving forward at the 2018 Australian Open.

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