Rome 2020: Final Countdown

ORDER OF PLAY

CENTRALE --  2:30 p.m. start
[1] Simona HALEP (ROU) vs. [2] Karolina PLISKOVA (CZE)

Head to Head

- Insights from

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simona halep

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ROU

More Head to Head

66.7% Win 8

- Matches Played

33.3% Win 4

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karolina pliskova

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CZE

MATCH POINTS

Two former World No.1 players will meet for the 2020 Internazionali BNL d'Italia crown: top seed Simona Halep of Romania and defending champion Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

No.1 seed Halep and No.2 seed Pliskova have met 11 times previously, with Halep holding a 7-4 overall lead in their head-to-head. Pliskova, though, has won their last two meetings.

PHOTO GALLERY: Rivalry record: Simona Halep vs Karolina Pliskova

Additionally, the pair has split their two tilts on clay. Halep ousted Pliskova in three sets in the 2017 Roland Garros semifinals, but Pliskova avenged that loss with a straight-set quarterfinal victory at Madrid in 2018.

World No.2 Halep is seeking her 22nd career WTA singles title, and third of the season. She is currently riding a 13-match winning streak, following her three-set semifinal victory over Garbiñe Muguruza on Sunday. Her winning streak includes a pre-hiatus title run at Dubai and a post-hiatus title run in Prague.

Halep has won eight WTA singles titles on clay, including the first of her two Grand Slam titles at 2018 Roland Garros. However, this week's top seed is seeking her first Rome title. This is her third trip to the Rome final, alongside back-to-back runner-up showings to Elina Svitolina in 2017 and 2018.

The Romanian has made the quarterfinals or better in all five tournaments she has contested this season. Her battle with Pliskova will be her first match against a Top 5 player in 2020.

World No.4 Pliskova has now won nine straight matches at the event, reaching her second consecutive Rome final with a straight-set semifinal victory over fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova.

Pliskova is aiming to win her 17th career WTA singles title, and her fourth on clay. A win would also give this week's No.2 seed her second title of the year, following a triumph in Brisbane in the very first week of the season. She has now won at least one WTA title for eight consecutive seasons.

The Czech would also become the 11th woman to defend her Rome title with a win on Monday. The most recent woman to defend the Rome singles title came very recently: Elina Svitolina in 2018.

Pliskova has defended a singles title one time in her career -- the 2020 Brisbane title was, in fact, the first time the Czech had ever successfully pulled off the feat.