Guangzhou and Seoul: Does Hsieh have a chance?

Guangzhou final:

Laura Robson vs. Hsieh Su-Wei

Hsieh Su-Wei will attempt to stop Laura's climb to the top in this final. Su-Wei is no pushover, having won all her matches with relative ease. She needs to mix things up with her funky slices and hit a winner out of nowhere. Hopefully this will unsettle Robson and not give her any rhythm. Su-Wei has already won an International title earlier this year in Kuala Lumpur, so she is the more experienced one. Laura needs to stay calm and serve well to win this. Let's hope she will not be too nervous in her first WTA final.

Pick: Robson in 2 sets

Seoul SF:

Caroline Wozniacki vs Ekaterina Makarova

Wozniacki will take on another big hitter in her semi-finals and judging by the way she's been handling them, I feel that she will take this one easily. Makarova hits a good ball, but her movement isn't top notch. Wozniacki will definitely exploit that and make Makarova hit that one more ball. I think Caroline is poised to reach her first WTA final of the year since Copenhagen. (Has it been that long!?) On a side note, doesn't Makarova look like Steffi Graf in the photo? If only she can channel her inner Graf into this match. :p

Pick: Wozniacki in 2 sets

Kaia Kanepi vs Varvara Lepchenko

Kaia Kanepi is one of the unluckiest players on tour. Just when you thought she is ready to make the next move towards the top 10, she justs a freak injury. This season is a jumbled mess for the Estonian. She started the year tremendously but had a freak loss in Melbourne. And then she gets injured during Indian Wells/Miami, only to do well during the French Open. After Paris, she injures herself again and is forced to miss Wimbledon, Olympics and US Open. Despite all these, she is still ranked a respectable 16. If she stayed healthy, I'm pretty sure she would be at least closing in on the top 10. If Kanepi's year resembles a sine curve, Varvara's one would be like a ln curve. Ranked outside the top 100 at the start, she is now touching the top 20 and has been posting consistent results for the past few months. Who will have the edge here? I believe Kaia's game is better and the only thing against her is her match toughness. Varvara needs to unsettle her and make Kaia panic to win this match.

Pick: Kanepi in 3 sets