Caroline Wozniacki vs. Sabine Lisicki
Caroline barely escaped the hard hitter in Jovanovski, and she will face a harder basher in Sabine Lisicki. The heads to heads is tied at 2 all, but I believe Sabine has the advantage in this fast indoor courts. Wozniacki did win their last encounter in Melbourne this year, but it was a hard fought 3 set match. With her injury supposedly healed, Sabine should be able to blast Wozniacki into submission.
Pick: Lisicki in 3 sets
Stefanie Voegele vs. Annika Beck
2 surprise semifinalists here as Voegele manages to upset the favoured Sloane Stephens in their quarter-final match. Sorry for shifting the focus, but Sloane is making too much noise for someone who cannot even reach the finals of a depleted event. She should concentrate on being consistent instead of saying things that she cannot live up to. Anyway, Voegele seems to picking up pace again after her impressive Charleston run. Still, I will give the advantage to Annika Beck, whose consistent strokes will be hard to break down. Annika has also won their only encounter, so she should be able to replicate her success.
Pick: Beck in 3 sets
Moscow SF:
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Simona Halep
Simona lead their heads to head 2-0, but I''m going to favour Pavlyuchenkova this time. Firstly, she is playing in Russia, and will get the full crowd support. Second, she was so close to beating Simona in Tokyo, but was undone by her fatigue after her Seoul final appearance. Now well rested and seemingly in the form of her life, Anastasia looks like a safe bet for the final. Halep had the good luck of drawing Kleybanova, who must be exhausted with her long drawn matches.
Pick: Pavlyuchenkova in 2 sets
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Samantha Stosur
Battle of the massive forehands here as doubles partners take on each other in this semi-finals. Stosur was impressive in her conquest of Ivanovic, but it was also due to Ana's mental fragility. What's more impressive is Kuznetsova''s demolition of Vinci, having lost their last match in Dubai. Will Svetlana turn the tides against the Aussie, having lost their last 2 matches as well? It seems so as Svetlana will be lifted by the home crowd, and Stosur must be tired from her recent matches. Also, Kuznetsova will be eager to join Pavlyuchenkova in the finals, should Anastasia win her match before this.
Pick: Kuznetsova in 2 tight sets
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