Unstoppable Simona Halep rolls on at 2019 Madrid Open

Who will stop tennis superstar Simona Halep at the 2019 Madrid Open? Ashleigh Barty will attempt to in the quarterfinals.

Third seed and former world number one Simona Halep is roaring ahead at the 2019 Madrid Open. She dispatches yet another challenger in dominant fashion. Halep knocks out 20-year-old Viktória Kužmová 6-0 6-0. Now, the Romanian tennis star is into the quarterfinals.

Halep has already knocked out the likes of qualifier Margarita Gasparyan, British number one Johanna Konta, and now up and comer Kužmová. She has defeated every single one of them in straight sets.

Up next for Halep is a major test though. The former world number one takes on the ninth seed at the Madrid Open in Australian Ashleigh Barty. This one is going to be tough to call. Halep remains the heavy favorite as she is fantastic on clay but Barty has had a strong 2019 so far.

Last year, Halep defeated American tennis star Sloane Stephens in the French Open finals. She has proven herself during the clay court season and should be considered a top contender, if not the player to beat right now. She has even tasted success in Madrid before. Barty will threaten to at least attempt to make Halep work harder than she’s needed to in her first three matches at the Madrid Open.

Barty is already among our five WTA sleeper picks on the 2019 tour. She is off to an impressive start and this matchup is highly anticipated. We still are taking Halep for the time being. Barty was taken to three sets by each of her previous two opponents. One of those was American Danielle Collins, also one of our five sleeper picks on the year.

Check back to see how Simona Halep fares in the quarterfinals. She previously took the title in women’s singles here in both 2016 and 2017 and ought to be considered a strong favorite for it again this year. Elsewhere at the Madrid Open, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer are all off to a strong start in the men’s singles action.