Charleston, Monterrey Day 2: Unknown factors

Charleston:

Anna Tatishvili vs. Sabine Lisicki
Melanie Oudin vs. Jelena Jankovic
Serena Williams vs. Camila Giorgi
Mona Barthel vs. Jessica Pegula
Sloane Stephens vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Daniela Hantuchova vs. Marina Erakovic
Alexandra Cadantu vs. Madison Keys
Laura Robson vs. Estrella Cabeza Candela
Varvara Lepchenko vs. Mathilde Johansson
Yaroslava Shvedova vs. Vania King
Yulia Putintseva vs. Julia Goerges
Carla Suarez Navarro vs. Stefanie Voegele
Sorana Cirstea vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues
Romina Oprandi vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Monterrey:

Jana Cepelova vs. Ayumi Morita
Vera Dushevina vs. Jovana Jaksic
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Nina Bratchikova
Coco Vandeweghe vs. Marion Bartoli
Maria Kirilenko vs. Ximena Hermoso
Marta Sirotkina vs. Ana Ivanovic
Angelique Kerber vs. Samantha Crawford
Julia Cohen vs. Donna Vekic
Alla Kudryavtseva vs. Eva Birnerova
Olga Puchkova vs. Lauren Davis
Daria Gavrilova vs. Tereza Mrdeza

Match focus:

Yaroslava Shvedova vs. Vania King

Former doubles partners clash in this intriguing first round. Both players are not in form with Shvedova only winning one match throughout the year. Will King be kind enough to give Shvedova a much needed win for a confidence boost? Yaroslava's issues must be mental as she was hitting her stride last year during Roland Garros to Wimbledon. Her sudden loss of form is puzzling and if she continues to lose, I'm afraid she'll be outside the top 100 again very soon. King should take advantage of this weak draw, as she's always on the verge but stops short everytime.

Pick: King in 3 sets

Yulia Putintseva vs. Julia Goerges

Julia Goerges is just an unknown factor. When you expect her to win, she loses to the weirdest opponent. When she's not favoured, she turns it on and upsets the higher ranked player. For my sanity's sake, I won't bother with Julia's form. Yulia is a hard hitting youngster who shows no fear (and respect) for her opponents. Expect her to keep Julia pinned to the baseline if Julia's serves are not landing in.

Pick: Putintseva in 3 sets

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Nina Bratchikova

As with Goerges, Pavlyuchenkova is also an unknown. You'll never know which Anastasia will turn up. Since her Brisbane run, she's barely winning matches and you have to think Nina Bratchikova stands a chance. Even though her form isn't that good either, Nina will definitely challenge Pavlyuchenkova given how shaky her performances are for the last 3 months. Will Nina finish the job? Or will the real Pavlyuchenkova be back?

Pick: Pavluchenkova in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Serena Williams, Sorana Cirstea, Marion Bartoli
Upset alert: Marina Erakovic, Julia Goerges, Olga Puchkova