Beijing day 2: Can Halep find her groove back?

Schedule of play:

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

Match focus:

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova vs. Simona Halep

It is no secret that Simona Halep has been struggling to find her form ever since her early exit in US Open. The consistent Simona looks vulnerable now, and is just content with keeping the ball in. Not too sure why Halep is playing so conservatively, since it was her smart counterpunching game that brought her to number 2 in the world. Maybe the pressure is too much. She needs to get her gears working against the tricky Strycova. If she's just relying on mistakes from Barbora, I'm afraid she will be looking at another early round exit.

Pick: Halep in 3 sets

Kaia Kanepi vs. Maria Sharapova

Another player struggling with her form, Sharapova has not been the same ever since her Roland Garros triumph. Perhaps she's too zoned in on her clay court tennis that she's not comfortable on her former best surface, hard courts. Maria's vulnerable serve is back to its errant ways, but it still takes a player with good mental strength to beat her. Kaia is well known to crumble under pressure, so I won't be banking on her for this upset. Nevertheless, Kanepi has the game to make this competitive.

Pick: Sharapova in 2 tight sets

Ekaterina Makarova vs. Garbine Muguruza

Makarova is having a remarkably consistent year and may be the dark horse to qualify for the championships in Singapore. She has a tough opener against the hard hitting Muguruza, who had a good showing last week in Wuhan. These 2 players will be bound to hit the fibres out of the tennis ball, and it will be a close one. The Russian had an unexpected loss against Bacsinszky last week, and will be eager to correct that against Muguruza. Besides, the Spaniard withdrew due to gastritis last week, so Makarova should have the edge here.

Pick: Makarova in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Karolina Pliskova

Upset alert: Andrea Petkovic, Samantha Stosur, Roberta Vinci

New Haven QF: Kvitova the sole seed left

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/535/title/connecticut-open

Match focus:

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova vs. Petra Kvitova

With only one seed left, it's difficult to go against Kvitova. The Czech annihilated Makarova in their Montreal rematch, and seems to be finding her groove again. Strycova is a dangerous all court player, but Kvitova's power will just blow her away. I will be very surprised if Petra doesn't hold the trophy come Saturday.

Pick: Kvitova in 2 sets

Magdalena Rybarikova vs. Alison Riske

These 2 players surprised everyone by breaking their slumps in spectacular fashion. Rybarikova took out top seed Simona Halep, while Riske ended Pennetta's campaign. Alison plays a high risk game and it paid off well against Flavia. However, Rybarikova's game incorporates a lot of slices, which doesn't give Alison much rhythm to get into her zone. Besides, Magdalena is definitely on a high after getting her first career top 5 win. I believe the Slovak will prevail this time.

Pick: Rybarikova in 2 tight sets

Camila Giorgi vs. Garbine Muguruza

When Giorgi's playing well, not even the Great Wall of Denmark can stop her. The Italian hits every ball as hard as she can and it paid off very well against the in-form Wozniacki. Caroline was a bit flat though, but Camila stuck to her game and reaped the rewards. Garbine will be a different case as she hits the ball with authority. She can boss Camila around and make the Italian try to make outrageous shots. Given her better shot selection, I predict Muguruza will emerge the winner.

Pick: Muguruza in 3 sets

Kirsten Flipkens vs. Samantha Stosur

Look who's back. Stosur dominated rising star, Eugenie Bouchard, and raced to her first quarter-final since January. Just when we thought that Stosur can be labelled as a has-been, she showed the form that carried her to the US Open title. If she continues her form, she will sweep away Flipkens as well, who struggled to put away a stubborn Petkovic. While both players play a similar game, Stosur does everything better than Flipkens, so it should be a no-brainer.

Pick: Stosur in 2 sets

New Haven day 2: Last min preparation before the big one

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/535/title/connecticut-open

Match focus:

Dominika Cibulkova vs. Andrea Petkovic

The American hard court season is normally where Cibulkova excels. However, this year, she is in absolutely horrific form, winning only 1 match against an unheralded Abanda. Looks like her woes will continue against Andrea Petkovic, who is playing good tennis once again. Not too sure what's bothering Dominika, but she needs to either take a break to regroup herself, or get a new coach. The constant losing will not be good on her mental game.

Pick: Petkovic in 2 sets

Garbine Muguruza vs. Sara Errani

Like Cibulkova, Errani has been struggling for the American hardcourt swing. She will face another hard-hitter, Muguruza after being ousted twice by Lisicki. Muguruza might not serve as hard as the German, but she can hit a mean ball from the ground. Sara will need to be patient and make Garbine commit the error. The good thing for Sara is that Garbine can lose to grinders, as evidenced by her puzzling loss to Annika Beck last week. Sara's game is better than Beck's, so the Italian looks poised to win another match here.

Pick: Errani in 3 sets

Bojana Jovanovski vs. Eugenie Bouchard

Major alarm bells will ring if Bouchard manages to lose this one. The hyped-up Canadian hasn't won a match so far in the American hard court season, so she has to prove herself here against Jovanovski. To be fair, Eugenie only played badly against Shelby Rogers, while Kuznetsova is always a dangerous opponent. So I believe Eugenie will right the ship and cruise to an easy victory here. If she manages to lose this, it will seem like she has crumbled under the heavy expecations laid upon her.

Pick: Bouchard in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Kirsten Flipkens, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Wozniacki
Upset alert: Dominika Cibulkova, Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Magdalena Rybarikova

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

Stanford, Washington day 2: Revenge for Ivanovic?

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;

Sabine Lisicki vs. Ana Ivanovic

Ana's last loss was against Sabine Lisicki on grass in Wimbledon.The Serbian will be looking forward to taking revenge here on her favoured hard courts. Sabine's game is quite elementary on surfaces other than grass, so Ana should have the advantage here. Nevertheless, Lisicki might have a day where she can't miss, then Ana will just have to blame it on her bad luck.

Pick: Ivanovic in 2 sets

Dominika Cibulkova vs. Garbine Muguruza

Dominika's title defense will face a tough test in her first round, where she faces the hard hitting Muguruza. Garbine's year has been impressive so far, although she went missing for a few months after losing the final to Koukalova. With Garbine back on track with her impressive showing in Paris, Dominika will have to play her A game to open her title defense. Cibulkova plays her best tennis on American hardcourts though, so she still has a slight edge over Muguruza, who didn't have too much of an impressive record before.

Pick: Cibulkova in 3 sets

Magdalena Rybarikova vs. Ekaterina Makarova

Another titlelist will find her title defense tough as Rybarikova faces the dangerous Makarova in her opening match. Magdalena has won the title for the past 2 years, but with a stronger field this year, defense of her title seems impossible. Makarova is playing better now, as compared to Rybarikova, who had some puzzling losses recently. I'm afraid Magdalena's ranking will take a tumbling after this match.

Pick: Makarova in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Venus Williams, Daniela Hantuchova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Upset alert: Yanina Wickmayer, Kirsten Flipkens, Marina Erakovic

Roland Garros scorecard: Queen of clay, Sharapova

A+: Maria Sharapova

Playing clutch tennis through her last 4 matches, Sharapova showed she had the best mental game on the women's tour despite not playing her best.

A: Simona Halep

Very decent showing from Halep given that this is her first slam final appearance. Definitely a future slam winner.

A-: Eugenie Bouchard

Not a fan of her attitude off court, but Eugenie has some serious game. If only she can mature off court, WTA will have another player to market.

B+: Andrea Petkovic

First slam semi-finals in her career made even sweeter given that she almost retired after her injury. Still, might have a Dementieva career. almost there but never reaching it.

B: Garbine Muguruza

What a showing from the Spaniard, displaying consistent power-hitting, and almost ousting 2 former champions. Clinical in her disposal of Serena Williams.

B-: Carla Suarez Navarro

Nobody can call her a mental giant. Wasted a perfect opportunity to make her first slam semi-finals by choking away leads in the sets that she lost. Needs a sports psychiatrist now.

C+: Pauline Parmentier

French wildcard captured the home crowd's imagination with her inspired play. She has the game, but just no faith in executing it. Hopefully this will give her the confidence to play well for the rest of the year.

C: Kiki Bertens

Out of nowhere, came through from qualifying all the way to the 4th round. Was always a competent player let down by her lack of focus. This run will give her the boost needed to get back on the main tour.

C-: Petra Kvitova

Well, she lost to a better clay court player. However, she fought very hard and almost had the win. Still, losing to Svetlana in a tight match isn't a good sign.

D: Agnieszka Radwanska

A strange and uninspired performance from the Pole. Wasted a perfect opportunity to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.

E: Serena Williams

She was outplayed and out hit by Garbine, who just couldn't miss. Normally, Serena would have fought her heart out, but a flat performance gave her her earliest exit in a slam after her infamous flop against Razzano.

F: Li Na

No excuses for the Chinese. Precisely what she said, she would have lost to anyone who was standing across the net. Horrific performance.

Roland Garros QF: Sharapova's title to lose

Upset of the previous day:

Sara Errani def. Jelena Jankovic 7-6(5) 6-2

Making her third consecutive QF in Paris in a row, Errani once again proves to be a threat on clay. To beat Errani, you have to hit through her, something which Jankovic doesn't have the power to do. The Serbian's balls do not have the penetration to hurt Sara, and Errani once again proves the doubters wrong. Another very winnable match against Petkovic awaits, as Errani tries to reach her third semi-final here for 3 consecutive years.

Match focus:

Garbine Muguruza vs. Maria Sharapova

Sharapova got out of jail big time against Stosur, with the Australian freezing up when she was near victory. The Russian will need to get things going against Garbine Muguruza, as the Spaniard is going from strength to strength. Muguruza's ground game is impressive, pinning her opponents to the baseline with hard hit balls. The only relative weakness I see is her service. If she gets a low percentage of first serves, Sharapova can pounce on the second serve and gain advantage. This is Garbine's first quarter-final, so there will definitely be nerves. Therefore, I think Sharapova will emerge to victor this time again. Things might get close for one set though.

Pick: Sharapova in 2 tight sets

Carla Suarez Navarro vs. Eugenie Bouchard

Bouchard's game isn't really suited for clay but she's also excelling on this surface. A win here will mean she's the only player to have reached 2 consecutive slam semi-finals this year. Carla loves the clay, but her mental game always lets her down. I believe securing that title in Oeiras has freed her a bit and it will be a dogfight here. Bouchard takes the ball early, but Carla can nullify that with her slow slice. If she can frustrate the Canadian with patient play, she can advance to her first slam semi-finals. Very evenly matched for these 2 players, but I think Suarez Navarro has the better clay game, and will reach the last 4.

Pick: Suarez Navarro in 3 tight sets

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

Madrid day 4: Still a big win left in Schiavone?

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/1479/title/mutua-madrid-open

Match focus:

Francesca Schiavone vs. Sara Errani

3 years ago, Schiavone defeated Errani in 3 sets here in Madrid. Can the veteran do it again? Now, the roles are reversed with Errani being the top ranked Italian and Schiavone struggling. Does Francesca have the last big win left in her? Frankly speaking, beating Sara isn't exactly a big win, but any win for Schiavone now is rare. Her form has plunged to a new low by losing to Garcia-Vidagany in Marrakech  a few weeks ago. I don't expect Sara to lose this, not to a slumping Francesca.

Pick: Errani in 2 tight sets

Garbine Muguruza vs. Samantha Stosur

What a way to overcome a bad loss. Samantha Stosur demolished Cibulkova in double quick time to announce her intent on clay. Whatever happened in Oeiras is clearly behind her as she dominated the higher ranked Slovak. This doesn't bode well for the Spanish youngster. Stosur's game on clay is just much better than Garbine's. And with her limited movement, the Aussie will be sure to make Muguruza work for her points. I think Stosur has the potential to go far here.

Pick: Stosur in 2 sets

Sloane Stephens vs. Petra Cetkovska

Even though Sloane is relatively new to the tour, these 2 have already played 3 times and this will mark their fourth meeting. Cetkovska won their most recent meeting in Doha this year, and has always pushed Stephens to the brink. Can Petra even the heads to heads this time? Petra, like all Czech players, is an unknown entity. She can go from playing top level tennis, to losing easily to scrubs. I have a feeling though that she raises her game when she's up against better opponents. And with Sloane being on her least favorite surface, Cetkovska has a chance. She just needs to believe in herself.

Pick: Cetkovska in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic
Upset alert: Sloane Stephens