Beijing Day 5: Angelique chasing for finals spot

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/1140/title/china-open

Match focus:

Angelique Kerber vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova

With Radwanska surprisingly bundled out, Kerber needs a good showing here to boost her chances of appearing in the year-end championships. She will face former Beijing champion Kuznetsova, but the Russian is suffering from erratic form. I believe the German is extra motivated now that the door to qualifying is wide open, so she will chase down Svetlana's balls relentlessly. Kuznetsova will probably be irritated and go for too much, hitting herself out of the match.

Pick: Kerber in 3 sets

Samantha Stosur vs. Caroline Wozniacki

Another player trying to cement her place in the year-end championships is Caroline Wozniacki. Before the US Open, it was almost an impossible task for the Dane to qualify for the prestigious event. However, an inspired run at US Open, followed by consistent results thereafter makes her an almost lock for the final 8. Against Stosur, Caroline just needs to play her normal consistent game and make Samantha miss.  The Aussie's game is very much built on confidence, so with her recent downward form, it should be an easy win for Wozniacki.

Pick: Wozniacki in 2 sets

Carla Suarez Navarro vs. Maria Sharapova

It should be a foregone conclusion that Sharapova is the huge favourite here. However, Carla Suarez Navarro interestingly won their last encounter in Montreal. If one recalls that match, it was an absolute horror show from the Russian, so I believe Sharapova will be more than happy to exact revenge. With her superior mental strength, it shouldn't be a tough task for Maria to beat the mental midget Carla. That is if her game is at its normal level and not hitting double faults and errors everywhere.

Pick: Sharapova in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Petra Kvitova, Alize Cornet

Cincinnati day 4: Rejuvenated Caroline up for an upset

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/1118/title/western-southern-open

Match focus:

Caroline Wozniacki vs. Angelique Kerber

Caroline Wozniacki is close to rediscovering her top form since 2011, and this match will be a test whether she's truly back at her peak. Kerber will definitely make her work for the points, and Caroline will need to step it up and be aggressive at the right time. These 2 players play a similar game, except that Wozniacki has a much more lethal serve. If Caroline serves well and keeps her errors low, she will be able to cause the upset here.

Pick: Wozniacki in 3 sets

Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Ana Ivanovic

Kuznetsova conquered the rising Eugenie Bouchard in a surprising 3 set win in her previous round, and will try to continue her resurgence against Ivanovic. Who would have thought that the Russian will hold her nerve and scrap out a 3 set win. Maybe Kuznetsova is really back. Nevertheless, Ana Ivanovic is playing inspired tennis at the moment, and may be too much for Kuznetsova to handle. Unless Ana is still bothered by her injury in Montreal, I don't see how Kuznetsova can pull off another upset.

Pick: Ivanovic in 2 tight sets

Maria Sharapova vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Maria Sharapova is not playing good tennis at all. She was horrific in her loss to Suarez Navarro in Montreal, and was gifted a place here by a brainless Madison Keys who didn't know how to make Maria work for her points. Pavlyuchenkova has beaten Sharapova before, so she knows what it takes to best her fellow Russian. Hopefully she will exploit the serving woes of Sharapova and stage the upset. However, knowing Sharapova, she's not going to go down without a fight. Anastasia will have to be mentally prepared to go the distance.

Pick: Pavlyuchenkova in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Serena Williams, Carla Suarez Navarro, Simona Halep
Upset alert: Jelena Jankovic, Angelique Kerber

Montreal day 4: Can Venus cause an upset?

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/740/title/rogers-cup

Match focus:

Venus Williams vs. Angelique Kerber

Peak Venus would have owned Kerber easily with her forceful serves and groundstrokes. However, now that Venus is a tad slower and more error-prone, Kerber's game is the perfect strategy to counter Venus. The German's game is scrappy which will induce plenty of errors from Venus. The elder Williams isn't powerful enough to hit her opponents to submission anymore. She will need to rely on a high percentage of first serves to stand a chance. My heart says Venus, but my mind says Kerber.

Pick: Kerber in 2 tight sets

Sabine Lisicki vs. Agnieszka Radwanska

Radwanska's recent form has not been good as she's been losing to power hitters who were on. She will face the same trouble here against Lisicki, who can overpower her if she's clicking. Radwanska will need to grind out the points and make Sabine win the point. The German is looking confident at the moment, and could possibly cause an upset here. She has beaten Agnieszka before, so she will be looking to replicate that again.

Pick: Lisicki in 3 sets

Caroline Wozniacki vs. Shelby Rogers

What an upset that Shelby caused by gifting Eugenie Bouchard 2 bagels. Her massive hitting game reminds me of Davenport, and could very well be America's next big hope. Let's see how she fares against Wozniacki, who is playing herself back to form. Caroline is on a winning streak dating back to Istanbul, and will be looking forward to dismantling the powerful American's game. The Dane thrives on pace, so she will be eager to chase down all the balls and make Rogers commit the errors.

Pick: Wozniacki in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka
Upset alert: Agnieszka Radwanska

Stnaford, Washington F: Former US Open champions announces their comeback

Stanford F:

Serena Williams def. Angelique Kerber 7-6(1) 6-3

Never write Serena Williams off. Trailing 1-5 in the first set, Serena ran away with 5 games in a row and clinched the first set on a tiebreak. Maybe she took a while to get herself into gear, but once she's on it, she's pretty much still the number 1 player in the world. With this win, Serena leads the tour with 4 titles so far this year. Despite not having the desired results in Grand Slams, Serena is making up with good results on the regular tour. Let's see if she can carry this form into New York.

Washington F:

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Kurumi Nara 6-3 4-6 6-4

Despite making things difficult for herself once again, Svetlana Kuznetsova finished the job in the end, and ended a 4 year title drought. Kuznetsova was cruising up a set and 3-1 when she decided to go on a mental walkabout. Nara's game isn't something which Kuznetsova couldn't handle, but the Russian always complicate things for herself like in the Oeiras final against Suarez Navarro. Nevertheless, she completed the win and added another well-deserved title to her resume. Svetlana will be one dangerous floater that the other players will be wanting to avoid in New York.

Stanford, Washington SF: Serena to exact revenge

Stanford SF:

Serena Williams vs. Andrea Petkovic

Petkovic ruined an all-Williams encounter, which Serena will be hungry to take revenge for elder sister. Serena showed old signs of being a fighter in her ultra close match against Ivanovic, so Petkovic will need to play much better than against Venus. Andrea was lucky that Venus got tired in the end, but Serena looks fit and ready, so a win for the world number seems more likely. Besides, Serena has dominant wins over Andrea this year, so this match should be the same.

Pick: Williams in 2 sets

Angelique Kerber vs. Varvara Lepchenko

Interestingly, Lepchenko has a leading head to head against the higher ranked Kerber. The American won 4 times in 6 meetings, but lost the most recent 2 meetings in the last 2 years. All of Varvara's victories came when Kerber was still languishing below top 50. Thus, Kerber looks set to inch closer to tying the head to head here. Except for that bizarre bagel set loss to Vandeweghe, Kerber has been playing well and clinical in her matches. It will be a surprise if Lepchenko can cause another huge upset after beating Radwanska.

Pick: Kerber in 2 sets

Washington SF:

Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Ekaterina Makarova

 

As a 2 time grang slam champion, it's really mind-boggling to see Kuznetsova struggling like this. It's not as if she has lost her ability to hit her thunderous forehand. Maybe her serve has regressed a bit, but her flaky mentality is at its best, hindering her from obtaining the results that she can achieve. As a former US Open champion, she should be the favourite here, but Makarova has been steady throughput the tournament. The advantage the Svetlana had will be her extra day off given Vania King's withdrawal. Let's hope Kuznetsova can win this title to give her frail confidence level a boost before New York.

Pick: Kuznetsova in 3 sets

Kurumi Nara vs. Marina Erakovic

Out of nowhere, these 2 slumping players managed to somehow reach the semi-finals. Erakovic has been on a decline recently, struggling to win even the most basic matches. It's not that she doesn't have the game, but her consistency is not there. Seems like she got it right this week, playing good aggressive tennis to win her matches without much trouble. These 2 haven't met since 2011, but Erakovic last won their match with a dreaded double bagel. With the fast hard courts, I believe Erakovic's aggressive game will have the advantage. She just needs to be patient enough to attack on the right points.

Pick: Erakovic in 3 sets

Wimbledon QF: Is Halep Lisicki's next victim?

Upset of the previous day:

Angelique Kerber def. Maria Sharapova 7-6(4) 4-6 6-4

Sharapova really collapsed in this match, and one has to wonder if it had to do with her being the new favourite to take the title. Cruising through the first 3 rounds, Maria failed to find the court in most of her rallies, and just couldn't hit through Kerber. Credit has to be given to the relentless German, as some of her gets were amazing. This loss marks yet another early exit for the Russian in Wimbledon, as she failed to reach the last 8 since 2011. Pretty strange given that her first slam title was here 10 years ago.

Match focus:

Simona Halep vs. Sabine Lisicki

 Will Wimbledon Sabine claim another big scalp? Lisicki is embroiled in a controversial medical timeout in her 4th round, where she stopped play in the third set down a break point. Critics have pointed out that she should have finished the game and asked for the trainer instead of disrupting her opponent's rhythm. Well, it worked this time as Shvedova is so mentally weak, that the slightest distractions can derail her. It did appear that Sabine's serve has been affected though, so Simona will be happy to put her out of her misery here. I don't see Lisicki recovering 100% in just 24 hours; so unless a miracle happens, Simona's got this in the bag.

Pick: Halep in 2 sets

Eugenie Bouchard vs. Angelique Kerber

Kerber just had a marathon struggle with Sharapova, and it will be tough against Bouchard, who had a full's day rest before this match. These 2 met in Paris, where Bouchard dispatched Kerber easily. Looking at the signs, it all points to yet another Bouchard victory. Eugenie will be looking at 3 consecutive semi-finals finishes in Grands Slams should she win this. The Canadian's flat strokes and aggressive game suits grass perfectly, and Kerber has to be tired after yesterday's effort.

Pick: Bouchard in 3 sets

Extra:

Serena Williams's bizzare illness

Serena Williams withdrew from her doubles match in one of the most bizarre showings on a tennis court. The American can barely catch balls from ballboys, and failed to put any kind of serve into the court during her service. The official reason is that she's suffering from a viral illness, but why play when you are obviously sick? I guess Serena didn't want to disappoint Venus, but she was really in no condition to play at all. Besides, her coach Patrick Mouratouglou claims to have not spoken to Serena since her loss to Cornet. It is extremely puzzling that the coach and player didn't communicate after a loss to analyze what went wrong. Maybe Serena was too distraught with her loss that she shut herself out for a couple of days, but everything is just very mystifying now. One point to note is that how caring Venus was during Serena's distress. She held Serena's hand, tried to motivate her, and carried her bag for Serena as they made their way out. Venus really has my respect as a tennis player, and as a human being. What do you think happened to Serena? Will she come back stronger?

Wimbledon day 8: Can Bouchard make it 3 in a row

Shock of the tournament:

Alize Cornet def. Serena Williams 1-6 6-3 6-4

Following the exit of Li Na, Serena follows her footsteps in yet another early Grand Slam loss. Serena's powerful game was just missing. Her imposing game which is so effective on grass is gone. Her confidence is shot. Something is wrong and Serena knows it. The American came into the tournament full of confidence and was all serious when talking about her game. This is a major setback for Serena, with her aura of invincibility diminishing. It will be interesting to see how she performs in the US Open series. Let's hope this shocking loss will finally spur her into action.

Schedule of play:

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/schedule/index.html

Match focus:

Alize Cornet vs. Eugenie Bouchard

Eugenie Bouchard may become the only player to reach 3 successive slam semi-finals this year with Serena Williams being ousted. Alize Cornet's run is surprising, especially on grass, but Bouchard should be able to take care of the Frenchwoman. Eugenie looks set to taste top 10 success this year with her stellar results so far. She's also living up to the expectations, which not many rising tennis players can claim. I believe she will win this, and make another breakthrough in her young career.

Pick: Bouchard in 2 sets

Angelique Kerber vs. Maria Sharapova

With Serena out of the way, Sharapova suddenly becomes the number 1 favourite to clinch the title. Her transition from clay to grass has been impressive, with her barely losing games so far. Kerber will be a tougher test with her pesky play, but Maria should be up for the task. Angelique's weak serve is begging to be punished on this surface, and Maria will spare her no mercy. All the Russian needs to do is to take care of her own service and she will be fine.

Pick: Sharapova in 2 sets

Petra Kvitova vs. Peng Shuai

Well well, look who's in the second week of a grand slam. Peng Shuai reaches her first 4th round in a Slam since 2012 right her in Wimbledon. This run is surprising especially with her poor form recently and her focus on doubles. Peng has the game to thrive on grass, but her opponent is just even more lethal than her. Kvitova's game is devastating in Wimbledon, and not even the great Venus Williams can stop her. If Petra continues her striking, she might end up winning the title again. Sorry Peng, but a 4th round appearance is good enough.

Pick: Kvitova in 2 sets

Ekaterina Makarova vs. Agnieszka Radwanska

Even though Makarova dumped Radwanska out in last year's US Open, I believe Agnieszka is not going to repeat the same mistake this time. Ekaterina has a handy game on grass, but with the courts being slower this year, it give Radwanska the advantage to make Makarova move around the court. Look out for Agnieszka's deft drop shots which has been so effective this year throughout the tournament.

Pick: Radwanska in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Caroline Wozniacki, Lucie Safarova

Roland Garros day 8: Another breakthrough for Bouchard

Upset of the previous day:

Lucie Safarova def. Ana Ivanovic 6-3 6-3

Another one bites the dust! Pre tournament favourite Ana Ivanovic throws in an erratic performance and is sent packing home by the unpredictable Lucie Safarova. Lucie does hold a commanding lead over Ana in previous meetings, but I figured that Ana is able to win with her confidence sky high. Perhaps with the top seeds falling out and the focus shifting to her, Ana couldn't handle the pressure as usual. Poor Ana. It always seem like one step forward, two steps back for her.

Schedule of play:

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/schedule/index.html

Match focus:

Eugenie Bouchard vs. Angelique Kerber

Anyone who watched Kerber's previous match would have seen the controversial point where Kerber claimed  point that wasn't hers. Well, it's not entirely her fault that the umpire, Louise Engzell, is totally incompetent at her job, but Angelique showed poor sportsmanship by telling Daniela to carry on with the game. Back to this match up, Eugenie's game should be able to trouble Kerber. The Canadian takes time away from Kerber, and is confident after winning her first title last week. Even if the umpire incident didn't happen, I would expect Bouchard to beat Kerber anyway.

Pick: Bouchard in 2 sets

Garbine Muguruza vs. Pauline Parmentier

Who would have expected one of these ladies will be in the quarter-finals of Serena Williams's section. Garbine is riding on her high right now and is the clear favourite. Nevertheless, Parmentier has been springing surprises throughout the tournament. Lifted by the French crowd, Pauline is making one last dash in her long career. It will be a fairytale for her to reach the last 8, but I believe Garbine is too solid to let that happen. Pauline had the luck of drawing easily affected opponents so far. Muguruza was so steady in her dismissal of Serena, that I believe she will easily trounce Parmentier to reach her maiden quarter-final.

Pick: Muguruza in 2 sets

Ajla Tomljanovic vs. Carla Suarez Navarro

Another youngster trying to make it to the last 8, Tomljanovic will be facing a big test in trying to topple Suarez Navarro. The Spaniard clearly excels on clay, and will be sure to make Ajla work for her points. The only way for another upset is to hope for another listless performance from her opponent. Carla has struggled in her first 2 matches, and seems to be back on form with her win over Taylor Townsend. It is all about peaking at the right moment and I believe Carla is doing just that. Unless she has another mental breakdown, which I believe she has overcome that with her win in Portugal.

Pick: Suarez Navarro in 2 sets

Samantha Stosur vs. Maria Sharapova

Just like Cibulkova who doesn't match up well to Stosur, Samantha's game just doesn't trouble Sharapova. The Australian's spinny game goes right into the strike zone of the statuesque Russian. and she will not hesitate to pound them for winners. Maria is also on a roll, winning her last match with a double bagel. Signs are not good for Samantha, but if she can upset the Russian (!), she has a chance to reach the finals.

Pick: Sharapova in 2 sets