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The pair have beaten each other twice in their
careers and the last time they met was at the same venue in the
round of 16 two years ago, when Romanian Halep triumphed in
straight sets.
However, seventh seed Halep has been pushed in her first two
matches this year -- stretched to three sets by unseeded
compatriot Mihaela Buzarnescu in the previous round -- as the
clay-court specialist struggles to adapt to the faster grass
surface.
"It's totally different, the game," Halep told reporters after
her 6-3 4-6 6-2 win over Buzarnescu. "I cannot slide here as I
like on clay court. You don't have that much time to think about
the shots. You have to be very fast."
Halep has plummeted from first to seventh in the rankings after
a trophy-less 2019 but Azarenka is wary of the diminutive
counter-puncher who prefers to stay behind the baseline and use
her shot selection and court coverage to grind down opponents.
"She's very good from the baseline, smart player, moves very
well, brings a lot of balls back," the Belarusian said.
"We had quite a few entertaining matches. She's definitely a
tough opponent... She knows how to play big matches."
In other matches, 15-year-old American sensation Cori Gauff, who
dispatched both Venus Williams and 2017 semi-finalist Magdalena
Rybarikova in straight sets, will also get a Centre Court
match-up against Polona Hercog of Slovenia.
Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic continues his
quest for a fifth title at the All England Club against Poland's
22-year-old Hubert Hurkacz while women's third seed Karolina
Pliskova faces Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Fallon)
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