Baku final: Svitolina repeats

Baku final:

Elina Svitolina def. Bojana Jovanovski 6-1 7-6(2)

Elina Svitolina successfully defends her title to become the first teenager to have multiple titles after Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 2011. With Jovanovski starting out nervously, Elina stamped her authority by playing her own game well. The first set was over in a flash. Bojana settled down in the 2nd and gave a good fight, but Elina was too steady in the end. It is difficult for a young player to win a title these days, and to repeat it's even more difficult. Hopefully this will give Elina the confidence and become a steady top 20 player that she's capable of.

Baku final: Multiple Baku winner will emerge

Bojana Jovanovski vs. Elina Svitolina

The past 2 winners of this event will fittingly vie for the Baku trophy in this final. Both came through their tricky semi-final opponents and earned their spot deservingly. The edge definitely has to go to Svitolina, the steadier of the 2. The Ukrainian has been more consistent this year, and looks to be assering herself as a consistent top 30 player. Jovanovski's year has been up and down, but when she's hitting the ball well, she can do real damage. It really depends on which player will turn up. From their performances in their previous match, I believe Elina will triumph with a 3 set win.

Pick: Svitolina in 3 sets

Baku SF: Can Svitolina repeat?

Stefanie Voegele vs. Bojana Jovanovski

Stefanie Voegele seems to have snapped out of her awful slump this year with some good wins in recent tournaments. She will face 2012 champion, Jovanovski for her first tour final appearance. Even though she is playing well, much has to be attributed to her opponent's level of play. Cirstea was just woeful in her match against Voegele, so the Swiss didn't have to do much. Bojana obviously loves this tournament given how well she has performed her before, so the edge has to go to her.

Pick: Jovanovski in 3 sets

Francesca Schiavone vs. Elina Svitolina

Francesca gained sweet revenge over Mladenovic with a win over the Frenchwoman after the umpire overruled a call that was way out last week in Istanbul. It wasn't Kristina's fault, but Francesca really didn't deserve such an appalling call. It's nice to see Schiavone still fighting hard at the twilight of her career. She will have an uphill task to beat defending champion Svitolina. The Ukrainian looks good to defend her title but Francesca definitely has the game to trouble her. Let's see if Schiavone can hold her stamina.

Pick: Svitolina in 3 sets

Baku day 4: Where the real action is

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/2184/title/baku-cup

Match focus:

Sorana Cirstea vs. Stefanie Voegele

Compared to yesterday's matches, today's matches are more interesting, with several title hopefuls in contention. Top seed Cirstea will be looking to advance to her first quarter-final this year and break out of her horrible slump. The Romanian has been lacklustre this whole season, and it's good to see her play lower tier events to gain confidence. Voegele's game is pretty much reactive, so if Cirstea can keep her errors low, she has a high chance of defeating the Swiss. Knowing Cirstea though, she will make things difficult for herself.

Pick: Cirstea in 3 sets

Kristina Mladenovic vs. Donna Vekic

This match of the rising stars pits Mladenovic against Kuala Lumpur titlist, Vekic. Kristina has been on a roll lately, reaching the semi-finals of Istanbul last week. She will be the favourite here despite her lower ranking. Vekic was expected to perform great things after her triumph in Kuala Lumpur, but failed to gain any momentum after that. Perhaps it's due to the weight of expectations on her young shoulders. It will be a good win if Vekic manages to beat Kristina, but the erratic Donna needs to get a few wins under her belt to get rolling.

PickL Mladenovic in 3 sets

Silvia Soler Espinosa vs. Elina Svitolina

Defending champion Svitolina has had a rough couple of months. She had some weird losses to players she's supposed to cruise by, so Elina's form is suspect. However, as this is played on hard courts, the Ukrainian will still have the advantage. Silvia's scrappy game works best on slow clay courts, and will find it difficult to track down so many of Elina's flat shots. Maybe we'll have a multiple Baku champion here.

Pick: Svitolina in 2 sets

Baku day 3: Return of form for younger Radwanska?

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/2184/title/baku-cup

Match focus:

Misa Eguchi vs. Urzsula Radwanska

Who is Misa Eguchi and how did Rybarikova lose to her? Since nobody really watched the match, we can only imagine it was due to Magdalena's non-existent form this year. Well, at least she will always find a way to beat Andrea Petkovic. Urszula must be relieved at facing a lower ranked player, having to retire in her last match against Rybarikova. If Urszula is injury-free, she should be able to cruise through this match.

Pick: Radwanska in 2 sets

Vesna Dolonc vs. Shahar Peer

Vesna Dolonc took half a year off to recover from her injury, and it will be a tough task to get into a winning groove immediately. She got lucky by drawing a local wildcard in her opening match, but against veteran Shahar Peer, she's not going to get it easy. Not saying that Dolonc cannot trouble her, but Peer will be more sharp having played in more tournaments. Nevertheless, Peer has been slumping for a while now, so an upset is also possible.

Pick: Peer in 3 sets

Jana Cepelova vs. Pauline Parmentier

Coming off a strong showing in Bastaad, Cepelova will fancy her chances against Parmentier. However, the surface now is hard courts, which will favour Pauline's heavier groundstrokes. Jana will need to cover a lot of court to draw the errors from the Frenchwoman. Pauline was impressive in her dismissal of Dulgheru, let's see if she can continue to surprise.

Pick: Parmentier in 3 sets

Baku day 2: Return of Kateryna Bondarenko

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/2184/title/baku-cup

Match focus:

Julia Glushko vs. Kateryna Bondarenko

Now this is a name you haven't seen in a while. Kateryna Bondarenko makes her main draw appearance after several years off the tour. During her break, she recovered from her injury, and had a child as well. Another Kim Clijsters in the making? Well, she's definitely not going to be as accomplished as Kim, but kudos to her for continuing on tour despite having a baby. Glushko will not be an easy opponent, but if Bondarenko plays to her former potential, she has a chance.

Pick: Bondarenko in 3 sets

Francesca Schiavone vs. Kurumi Nara

Francesca is obviously at the twilight of her career, but can still play good tennis in flashes of brilliance. She has a chance here against the slumping Nara, who has really struggled since winning her first title in Rio. Schiavone has also been a victim of bad luck last week, when umpire Eva Asderaki overruled an out call which was obviously correct. Let's hope she gets sweet vengeance this time.

Pick: Schiavone in 3 sets

Heather Watson vs. Kristina Mladenovic

Heather Watson's perseverance finally paid off, as she obtains a seeding for this tournament. It has been a long way back for the Brit, but the results are finally coming in for the hardworking girl. Still, the road isn't going to get easier as she faces an in form Kristina Mladenovic. The Frenchwoman had a good result last week in Istanbul, and is pretty tough when she's clicking. Heather will have to bring her running shoes and wear the erratic Kristina out if she wants to win this. 

Pick: Watson in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Jana Cepelova, Magdalena Rybarikova, Elina Svitolina

Upset alert: Julia Glushko, Sorana Cirstea

Baku day 1: Surprisingly strong field this year

Baku schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/2184/title/baku-cup

Match focus:

Pauline Parmentier vs. Alexandra Dulgheru

Pauline Parmentier enjoyed an inspiring run in Paris, but continued her bad run of results immediately after that. Looks like that Paris run was a fluke. Alexandra will be the slight favourite here, being a former top 30 player. However, the hard courts will suit Pauline more, so Dulgheru will need to make the Frenchwoman work for her points. If the Romanian stays healthy, she should be able to outlast Pauline.

Pick: Dulgheru in 2 sets

Alexandra Cadantu vs. Stefanie Voegele

Stefanie Voegele must be thanking her lucky stars upon drawing slumping Cadantu. The troubled Romanian is utterly dismal this year, and even though Voegele herself isn't in sparkling form, it will definitely be enough to defeat the dire Cadantu. Not too sure what is wrong with Alex, but I think she needs to take a break to regroup herself. Her losing ways cannot be good for her mentality.

Pick: Voegele in 2 sets

Patricia Mayr-Achleitner vs. Bojana Jovanovski

As a former champion here, Jovanovski will be confident of her chances here. Mayr-Achleitner's game is more to annoy her opponent than outplaying them, so I don't expect Bojana to fall for that trap. With a better field this year, Bojana may not be able to repeat her triumph 2 years ago, but should be able to cruise through her opener.

Pick: Jovanovski in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Yvonne Meusburger, Stefanie Voegele, Bojana Jovanovski,
Upset alert: Pauline Parmentier