It was a great day at the office for both Halep and Williams. In the first semifinal, Halep cruised past Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-3, in what turned out to be pretty routine match for Halep after the first couple of games. The first two games lasted 20 minutes to complete, and everyone assumed the match would continue in a back and forth. However, it was not to be.

After the first couple of games, Halep was the more aggressive player, taking it to Svitolina. She successfully used the drop shot, and brilliantly opened up the court for the down the line winners with her cross-court backhand. In the end it was too much for Svitolina. Halep was too much quality for her today and seemed to want it more. In the post-match interview Halep stated how while she used to give up on points in the past, that is not the case anymore. She will fight every single point.

In the second semifinal, it was more of the same, with one player completely dominating. But whereas Halep is a scrappy fighter with great groundstrokes, Serena simply dominates, taking control of the point from the very first shot, whether she’s serving or returning. Strycova tried to trade powerful groundstrokes with Serena, and you just can’t do that. Everyone knows that you have to mix it up against Serena.

Which leads me to my next observation. Because Halep does have the ability to mix it up like nobody else on tour, I am giving this final a 50/50 in terms of winner. If Serena can impose herself quickly in points, it will be tough. However, if Halep can hang in a point after the first couple of shots, she’ll have the edge. It will be tough because on grass Serena gets you behind on a point in the first two to three shots. It should be an interesting final. Edge to Serena.