2nd round:
(9) Serena Williams vs. Nadia Petrova
(1) Victoria Azarenka vs. Shahar Peer
(3) Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Petra Cetkovska
(WC) Venus Williams vs. Ekaterina Makarova
(Q) Sloane Stephens vs. Flavia Pennetta
(5) Samantha Stosur vs. Sara Errani
(8) Li Na vs. Iveta Benesova
(6) Caroline Wozniacki vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues
(14) Dominika Cibulkova vs. (WC) Karin Knapp
(13) Ana Ivanovic vs. Silvia Soler-Espinosa
(12) Angelique Kerber vs. Vania King
(7) Marion Bartoli vs. Julia Goerges
Sorana Cirstea vs. Sofia Arvidsson
Marina Erakovic vs. Chanelle Scheepers
Match focus:
(9) Serena Williams vs. Nadia Petrova
Serena is fresh off a win in Madrid. So why is this match so interesting? Well, Nadia Petrova was a top 3 player and she is the only player to defeat Justine Henin on red clay in 2006. Besides, Nadia won her last 2 meetings with Serena. Lastly, Serena has played a lot of matches. When was the last time she did well in back to back tournaments? Maybe when she was dominating the sport back in 2002-3. It all depends on which Serena turns up. If a disinterested Serena turns up, Nadia will make things very interesting.
Pick: 40% Serena in 3 sets.
(WC) Venus Williams vs. Ekaterina Makarova
Venus handled Simona Halep with relative ease, after struggling against her in Madrid. Ekaterina just upset hometown favourite, Francesca Schiavone. These 2 players seem to be relatively in-form. I expect a good match with lots of winners. Venus's last loss was to Angelique Kerber. Will she succumb to another left-hander? Or will the hunger to qualify for Olympics show through and lead Venus to another win?
Pick: Venus in 2 tight sets
(5) Samantha Stosur vs. Sara Errani
Clay court specialists alert! Well, Samantha isn't exactly a clay-court specialist (she won her first slam on hard courts) but her game translates well on this surface. Sara Errani enjoyed a run of wins in smaller tournaments, only to be destroyed last week by Agnieszka Radwanska. It will be interesting to see if Sara could trouble Sam with her relentless grinding or will Sam slam her way to another victory.
Pick: Stosur in 3 sets
(7) Marion Bartoli vs Julia Goerges
Marion won all their 2 previous encounters, including one last year in Roland Garros. Also, Julia seemed to have picked up a knee injury in her first round. Will Marion snap her losing streak or will her mini-slump continue? I'm going to have to go with the Frenchwoman. Julia barely scraped out her first round and she would be better off withdrawing than risking further injury.
Pick: Bartoli in straights
Sure win bets: Flavia Pennetta, Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki
Upset alert: Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams (?)
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