Moscow, Luxembourg day 2: Best of the rest

Moscow schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/664/title/kremlin-cup-by-bank-of-moscow

Luxembourg schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/233/title/bgl-bnp-paribas-luxembourg-open

Match focus:

Ana Konjuh vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Coming off a good week in Osaka, Ana Konjuh will be a tough opener for the patchy Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Russian has hit a rough patch lately, barely winning matches. Still, her season is salvaged by her surprise title run in Paris Indoors. In the fast carpet surface, Pavlyuchenkova has the experience, having won in Paris earlier in the year, but Konjuh has nothing to lose and her powerful game is effective here as well. Pavlyuchenkova will need to weather the storm, and try to make Ana make the errors.

Pick: Pavlyuchenkova in 3 sets

Caroline Garcia vs. Aleksandra Krunic

Caroline Garcia is the anti-thesis of consistency. Just when you thought that she's getting her groove back, she bombs out in the opening round of Linz. Needless to say, it is impossible to predict which Garcia will show up. However, against someone as scrappy and stingy as Krunic, I think Caroline will lose here. Aleksandra will make Garcia crazy with her endless retrieving, which will result in wild errors from the French girl. Looks like Krunic will score another upset here.

Pick: Krunic in 2 sets

Sabine Lisicki vs. Daniela Hantuchova

Given Hantuchova's recent lack of form, Sabine should be able to cruise in her first round match. The lightning fast surface does not give any consolation to Daniela, whose movement is laborious even on other surfaces. Let's see if Daniela can summon her game and show that she still has some years ahead of her. If she loses this in a lopsided manner, I believe the end is near for Daniela.

Pick: Lisicki in 2 sets


Sure in bets: Camila Giorgi, Elena Vesnina, Alize Cornet, Andrea Petkovic
Upset alert: Caroline Garcia, Kiki Bertens, Varvara Lepchenko, Annika Beck

US Open day 3: All according to script?

Upset of the previous day:


Catherine Bellis def. Dominika Cibulkova 6-1 4-6 6-4

I know Cibulkova isn't playing well, but to lose to someone ranked outside the top 1000 is just baffling. Bellis took advantage of Dominika's weak serve and made her look like the one who's ranked outside the top 1000. With this, she becomes the youngest player to win a Grand Slam match since Anna Kournikova. As for Cibulkova, she needs to take a break and find herself again.

Match focus:

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Alize Cornet

Daniela is defending quarter-finalist points here, but it's tough to see her reaching that stage. Cornet's scrambling game will make Hantuchova go for too much, and hit herself out of the tournament. Daniela's form has been dire for the past year, so I don't think she can surprise at the twilight years of her career.

Pick: Cornet in 2 sets

Belinda Bencic vs. Kurumi Nara

Promising star Belinda Bencic stands a good chance of upsetting Kurumi Nara, one of the weaker seeds in the draw. However, Kurumi has been improving a lot this year, and Bencic will have to play her best to topple the Japanese. The Swiss still has some maturing to do game-wise, so while I believe she will put up a good fight, the steadier Nara will still emerge victorious.

Pick: Nara in 3 sets

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni vs. Shahar Peer

One of these ladies will have a chance to appear in a 3rd round of a Grand Slam, which is a very nice surprise for these 2 aging players. It is arguable that the best years of these ladies are over, so the reward in the last 32 will be extra sweet. Mirjana can hit with the best players of the world, but she's just not consistent enough. Peer's game will make Lucic try outrageous shots, so the Israeli stands at an advantage here.

Pick: Peer in 3 sets

Sloane Stephens vs. Johanna Larsson

Sloane Stephens is playing well, but her opponent just destroyed Virginie Razzano with the dreaded double bagel in her first round. Can Larsson carry her good form here? Firstly, she will be daunted by the prospect of playing an American on the huge Arthur Ashe stadium. Besides, Larsson's game will always be limited by her weak backhand. Sloane will take full advantage of that side and cruise to a comfortable victory.

Pick: Stephens in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep
Upset alert: Roberta Vinci, Andrea Petkovic

Stanford, Washington day 4: Venus to trump rusty Azarenka

Stanford schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/637/title/bank-of-the-west-classic

Washington schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/2182/title/citi-open

Match focus:

Victoria Azarenka vs. Venus Williams

Venus Williams will be happy that she's facing a rusty Azarenka, who has won only one match since her return from injury. Not that the elder Williams's isn't capable of beating Azarenka when she's healthy, but coupled with her auto-immune illness, you take whatever advantage you can get. Victoria's best surface is the hard courts though, so she might put up a good fight.

Pick: Venus in 3 sets

Garbine Muguruza vs. Daniela Hantuchova

Fresh from her upset win over Cibulkova, Muguruza will like her chances against fading veteran Daniela Hantuchova. The Slovak is barely hanging onto her ranking, and is only bolstered by her surprise quarter-final appearance in US Open last year. Daniela needs to disrupt Garbine's rhythm and attack the net whenever possible. However, if the Spaniard is firing, it's difficult to get a chance to volley.

Pick: Muguruza in 2 sets

Vania King vs. Christina McHale

All American clash as Vania King takes on Christina McHale. Christina took out 4th seed Sloane Stephens in 3 tight sets, but it was worth nothing that Sloane doesn't bring her best tennis to smaller events. King has the experience and leads the heads to heads against Mchale 2-0. Although the wins were during 2010, I think King has the game to upset the relatively passive Christina. Vania needs to take good care of her serve and attack the net when possible.

Pick: King in 3 sets

Roland Garros day 6: Stosur the dark horse

Upset of the previous day:

Julia Glushko def. Kirsten Flipkens 6-4 3-6 6-4

The horror year continues for Flipkens as she suffers another early round exit in Roland Garros. She and Lisicki are guilty of not fully utilizing their elevated rankings to get consistent results, and will most probably be dropping out of the top 40 after Wimbledon. Kirsten seems to be confused at the moment, doing different things that gave her this ranking. She should continue to deploy her slice as not a lot of players on tour can handle that. Let's hope she can have better results on grass.

Schedule of play:

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

Match focus:

Dominika Cibulkova vs. Samantha Stosur

 Cibulkova must be cursing at her rotten luck having drawn Stosur in her third round. The Slovak hasn't found any solutions to the Stosur puzzle and will probably go down tamely as usual. With the top half of the draw collapsing, Stosur might have a chance to go far in this tournament. That is provided she can upset Sharapova though. Nevertheless, Stosur can breath a sigh of relief as Dominika just doesn't trouble her. A 4th round showing will be good enough for the Aussie.

Pick: Stosur in 2 sets

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Angelique Kerber

Players all aim to peak at the right tournament and these 2 are doing exactly that. In their warm-up tournaments, they were posting horrid results and looked poised for an early upset. Surprisingly, they chose this tournament to shrug off the bad form, both living to their seed status. Daniela's best surface will never be clay, but neither is Kerber's. Daniela does have some good wins on the red stuff, and is capable of creating an upset once in a while. I still believe Angelique's grinding game will cause Daniela to go for too much and make the errors. It might get close though.

Pick: Kerber in 2 tight sets

Taylor Townsend vs. Carla Suarez Navarro

Taylor Townsend proved to be delight to watch as she displayed her powerful game (on a show court nontheless) against Alize. Even though she's carrying extra weight, her movement isn't that compromised, and she showed some fine power and delicate touch as well. Carla will need to be on alert as Taylor is fearless and has nothing to lose. The Spaniard's form isn't exactly stellar so far, but she has been doing enough to win her matches. Let's see if she does enough to tame the youngster.

Pick: Suarez Navarro in 3 sets

Pauline Parmentier vs. Mona Barthel

Sometimes, crowd support can give you the advantage you need, like in the case of Pauline Parmentier. The French crowd was obviously behind her, but the way they abused Shvedova in their second round was disgraceful. No player deserved to be jeered like that. On a bigger court, I think the crowd will be less partisan, so I believe Mona can finish the job without being affected. Parmentier has done practically nothing this year, so it's a huge surprise to see her outlasting Alize, the highest ranked French player. She'll need a lot of help from the crowd if she wants to win this.

Pick: Barthel in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Agnieszka Radwanska, Maria Sharapova, Eugenie Bouchard
Upset alert: Dominika Cibulkova

Roland Garros day 1: Veterans still have the edge

Roland Garros schedule of play:

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

Match focus:

Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Zhang Shuai

Radwanska faces the highest ranked player who's not seeded, but she shouldn't worry. Zhang's game doesn't suit clay and Radwanska should be able to get the job done in second gear. The Chinese had a good run in Rome, but it was due to the incompetence of Kvitova that led her there. Looks like the Chinese's losing streak in Grand Slams is set to continue here.

Pick: Radwanska in 2 sets

Belinda Bencic vs. Venus Williams

Belinda Bencic sets up an intriguing match against Venus Williams, as she tries to prove to the world that she can beat quality players consistently. Venus didn't play much in preparation for Paris, and lost to Suarez Navarro in Rome. She will be eager to peak here against Bencic, who is still rather young to be winning these type of big matches. Venus just needs to keep herself healthy for the whole match. Bencic can claim a set, but Venus will emerge to winner (if she stays healthy).

Pick: Venus Williams in 2 sets

Ajla Tomljanovic vs. Francesca Schiavone

Former champion Schiavone is at risk of going out in her opening round against the upcoming Tomljanovic. The Croatian has been enjoying her best year on tour, and is playing with no points to defend. Francesca loves this event though, having won here in 2010 and reaching the finals in 2011, so she will fight to the bitter end. Ajla's game is not really clay court tennis, so the advantage goes to Schiavone. The deciding factor will be the Italian's stamina. Let's hope Francesca doesn't run out of gas.

Pick: Schiavone in 2 tight sets

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Jovana Jaksic

Daniela is not enjoying her best tennis, bounced out of warm up clay events by lesser known opponents. It remains to be seen if the younger Jaksic can defeat the experience Slovak, but I doubt so. Daniela is picking her tournaments wisely and looks to peak in the bigger events. Jovana's game is pretty raw, so Daniela is at an advantage here. She just needs to play aggressive and smart tennis and not go for the kill too early. Jovana still has a lot of maturing to do in my opinion.

Pick: Hantuchova in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Serena Williams, Yvonne Meusburger, Angelique Kerber, Carla Suarez Navarro, Garbine Muguruza
Upset alert: Varvara Lepchenko, Tsvetana Pironkova, Maria Kirilenko, Olga Govortsova, Kaia Kanepi

Stuttgart, Marrakech SF: There's no stopping Sharapova now

Maria Sharapova vs. Sara Errani

Every time Sharapova meets Errani, she will destroy the diminutive Italian. Even at her most vulnerable state now, I don't think this will change. Sara only benefited from a retirement from Carla, who unfortunately injured herself. The Italian plays her best tennis on clay, but her best just doesn't match up to Sharapova.

Pick: Sharapova in 2 sets

Jelena Jankovic vs. Ana Ivanovic

What was supposed to be a first round match became a semi-final, after Cibulkova withdrew from the event. Ana and Jelena have a long history and their matches have always been entertaining. I do not expect anything different here. Jankovic does seem to have a problem playing Ana though, as she gets too defensive and hopes that Ivanovic will implode. Conversely, Ana seems to raise her level when playing her countrywoman. Given how hard Ivanovic fought this week, I will give the edge to Ana. She is showing signs of her 2008 form and if she continues like this, she can be a dark horse for Roland Garros.

Pick: Ivanovic in 3 sets

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Romina Oprandi

Daniela didn't have to hit a single ball in her quarter-final against Peng, Looks like the Chinese will never win a singles title. The top seed will face the wily Oprandi, whose game works the best on clay. Romina has been plagued with injuries throughout her career, which is a pity as her game is fun to watch with plenty of variety. Daniela has won their only match on clay in 2011, so I believe Hantuchova has the advantage. She just has to be aggressive and not engage in gruelling rallies with the Italian.

Pick: Hantuchova in 2 sets

Maria-Teresa Torro Flor vs. Garbine Muguruza

Anyone who has watched Maria-Teresa Torro Flor play before will agree that she has a monstrous forehand. The problem with it is that it only lands in half of the time. She doesn't have the discipline to know when to pull the trigger. Looks like she's beginning to get that under control now as she advances to her first semi-final of her career. Her opponent will be daunting though, as Muguruza seeks her second title of the year. Garbine has been on a losing streak after choking her lead in Florianopolis, but has rebounded nicely here. If she keeps her game in check, I don't see why she cannot make her 3rd final of the year.

Pick: Muguruza in 2 sets

Stuttgart, Marrakech QF: Determined Sharapova

Stuttgart schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/651/title/porsche-tennis-grand-prix

Marrakech schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/84/title/gp-sar-la-princesse-lalla-meryem

Match focus:

Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Maria Sharapova

For her past 2 matches, Sharapova showed a lot of heart in defending her title here. Sure, she didn't play her best tennis, but her fighting spirit is insurmountable and Radwanska will need to work hard for a win here. Agnieszka has been very consistent this year, but faltered in matches where she's expected to win. This scenario is going to be a good test for the Pole to see if she has overcome her demons. If she wins here, she will deny Sharapova of a three-peat and kick her out of the top 10. Maria is sure as hell going to fight her heart out. Just because of that, I think Sharapova will win this and extend her top 10 stay longer.

Pick: Sharapova in 3 sets

Ana Ivanovic vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova

Svetlana looks to be back at her best after ousting the higher ranked Simona Halep in straight sets. The Romanian seems to be injured, but it still takes a work to beat Simona. Svetlana will go into her quarter-finals with no pressure against Ivanovic. On clay, Kuznetsova has the more potent game but Ana seems to be fighting very well this year. If things get close, Kuznetsova will be the first to break. I still believe that Svetlana has the game to upset Ana, provided she keeps it together in her head.

Pick: Kuznetsova in 3 sets

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Peng Shuai

Daniela took a smart decision to play here in the lower tier Marrakech to gain some matchplay and wins. She has done nothing much this year and a few wins here will do her good. Same goes to Peng, who has been concentrating too much on her doubles career. The Chinese has a pretty decent singles game, and gaining wins here will give her singles career a much needed boost. Daniela leads the heads to heads at 2-0, but both wins came on hard courts. On clay, Daniela is at her most vulnerable with her compromised movement. Peng should be able to exploit that and give a close fight. I think Peng will clinch a tight win here given how vulnerable Daniela has been for her first few matches.

Pick: Peng in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Sara Errani, Jelena Jankovic, Garbine Muguruza
Upset alert: Agnieszka Radwanska, Ana Ivanovic, Daniela Hantuchova