Halep's first match after winning Wimbledon
Simona Halep's biggest win has also been her most unexpected one. She did not miss out on showing the whole world how proud she was after winning Wimbledon - and rightly so! After celebrating properly, she headed back to Romania where she was hailed as a hero. Meeting friends and family and getting honored again in Constanta and Bucharest meant a lot to her.
That being said, Halep didn't have to focus much on exercising these last three weeks, taking a well-deserved break. She arrived in Toronto four days ago and even after practicing a few days on-site, match fitness might still be an issue for her.
Brady a capable opponent
Her opponent, Jennifer Brady, is definitely steeled for competition as she didn't lose a set in her three previous matches in Toronto, defeating Peng and Puig in qualifying before crushing Mladenovic 6-1 6-2 in round one.
Brady is arguably playing the best tennis of her life, currently at 27-17 in 2019 (20-9 on hard courts). Through all these 2019 hard court matches, her hold/break stats are amazing, she holds serve 76.6% of the time while breaking at 41.5% - numbers you can hardly find on the WTA tour.
Medium fast courts suit Brady
The courts in Toronto are playing medium fast, suiting Brady's game perfectly. Relying on a good serve, she also improved a lot in constructing points. Hitting hard has always been an attribute of her game, so with her being a lot more consistent this year, it will be a tough task for Halep to win this match in straightforward fashion. As mentioned earlier, I don't think she's 100% match-fit again after taking some time off the court and with her game being based on great court coverage and grinding opponents down, that might open up a chance for Brady in this match.
Expecting a closer run than odds suggest
Bookmakers still make Halep the overwhelming favorite, so we even have the opportunity to oppose her with a simple handicap bet. The fact that the first match back after a break is always a tricky one in addition to Brady's improvements make the +1.5 set handicap a bet for me at 2.10.
