Monday, 6 October 2014

Linz, Osaka, Tianjin day 2: Another Chinese retirement?

Linz schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/461/title/generali-ladies-linz

Osaka schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/340/title/japan-womens-open-tennis

Tianjin schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/3783/title/tianjin-open--tianjin-china

Match focus:

Andrea Petkovic vs. Camila Giorgi


Andrea lost an absolute heartbreaker against Simona Halep in Beijing, so it's going to affect her for a while. She will face the dangerous Giorgi, who has already beaten her twice this year. Can the Italian continue her dominance of Petkovic? The indoor surface will no doubt give the flat hitting Camila the advantage. However, her recent run of form doesn't boost anyone's confidence, so it will be a close match.

Pick: Giorgi in 3 sets

Zheng Jie vs. Ana Konjuh


Zheng Jie's long time fellow Chinese Li Na retired just recently, and I'm afraid the petite Chinese will follow her footsteps soon. Zheng's results this year has been abysmal except for a final appearance in 's-Hertenbosch, and has been struggling with winning any kind of matches. Against the fearless young Ana Konjuh, she is due to be upset. Ana hits with very good power, and already has some good top 50 wins under her belt. If she keeps up her good form, she should be able to clinch this.

Pick: Konjuh in 3 sets

Andrea Hlavackova vs. Monica Puig


Andrea's year in singles is a total disaster in 2014, so Puig should breathe a sigh of relief upon drawing her. Nevertheless, the Puerto Rican's form is very spotty, and might just crash out to anyone, as evidenced by her surprise loss last week to Hercog. The youngster needs to improve on her consistency as she seems to have some good wins followed by horrendous losses. Andrea's game is very hit or miss, so Monica needs to be patient and manage her offensive attacks. If Puig loses this, she needs a new coach, not a game change.

Pick: Puig in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Peng Shuai, Jelena Jankovic, Jarmila Gajdosova, Samantha Stosur, Tsvetana Pironkova
Upset alert: Zheng Shuai, Zheng Jie, Lara Arruabarrena, Andrea Petkovic, Donna Vekic

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