[1-WC] Serena Williams (USA) vs. [3] Simona Halep (ROU)

Serena’s return to Indian Wells has been marked with something Serena knows a lot about – wins.  Simona Halep is playing her best tennis of 2015 at Indian Wells.  She also posted an impressive 6-0, 6-2 win versus Serena in the round robin portion of the 2014 season finale.  Serena avenged this loss by humbling Halep 6-3, 6-0 in the championship match.  The lesson from Halep’s win was that her baseline hugging and tough competing allows her to beat Serena when errors are part of the equation.  The lesson of Serena’s win is that Serena has too many weapons for Halep when Serena plays clean tennis.  Serena would obviously love to make a triumphant return to Indian Wells.  I think this almost assures her of being dialed in to this match.  That is bad news for Halep who will have to find a way to manufacture offense and extend points with great defense.  I just can’t see Halep doing that enough to win this match.

My Prediction: Serena Williams d. Simona Halep 6-3, 6-2