WTA Betting: Back Halep to deny Pliskova glory in Dubai

Can Halep's red hot form continue?

We're down to the final two in Dubai, and Abelson Info preview the clash between Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova...

With our outside tournament tip falling in the last round, we're forced to select a new pick to back to become champion in Dubai.

Simona Halep ended Caroline Wozniacki's hopes on Friday, but the Dane didn't go without a fight as she forced her rival to go the distance.

Nevertheless, Halep ultimately continued her impressive year so far in which she has now won 11 of her 13 matches while she has also picked up a title along the way.

The Romanian star hasn't looked back over the last two years as she continues to rank in the top five in the world, but she will need to be wary of her next opponent who will be looking to cause a major upset.

Pliskova has been sensational this past week and after overcoming two difficult opponents with ease in the opening two rounds, she went on to defeat Ivanovic and Safarova before beating fellow WTA rising star Garbine Muguruza last time out.

The Spaniard hit back after dropping the first set, but in a highly competitive final set she was edged out as Pliskova moves on to the biggest match of her career thus far.

Pliskova had never even reached the quarter-finals of a Premier event before this week, and with a solid serve that is difficult to break and crushing ground-strokes in her armoury, she won't want her run to end any time soon.

However, it is worth considering the fact that her match with Muguruza lasted just short of three hours, and with such a short turnaround and her inexperience at this stage of tournaments, it could factor against her.

There is also an argument to suggest that the sheer adrenaline and excitement of the situation will ensure that she overcomes it, but the 22-year-old is facing a completely different proposition on Saturday and Halep will look to expose her weaknesses.

Despite the fact that Pliskova has displayed great movement to go with her big-hitting style, Halep will surely look to make her towering opponent scramble around the court rather than engage in long rallies.

Halep is of course more than capable of doing that and still winning, so it remains to be seen what game-plan she adopts to ensure that things stick to the script on Saturday as we envisage a few scary moments.

Pliskova's form this week unsurprisingly ensures that she shouldn't be taken lightly, and if you want to back the underdog, do so with a good amount of confidence.

However, Halep is more experienced, has the better developed all-round game and is still hungry for more tournament wins.

As a result, back her to see off her Czech opponent in straight sets, but Pliskova will certainly still be a name to remember for the rest of 2015.

Recommended Bets:

Back Halep to beat Pliskova 2-0 @ 1.9110/11