Budapest, Bad Gastein day 3: Roberta to sink further

Budapest schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/3823/title/bucharest-open--bucharest-romania

Bad Gastein schedule of play:


Match focus:

Alexandra Dulgheru vs. Roberta Vinci

I really have no idea how to make sense of Vinci's massive slump. If she's just playing badly, her doubles results would have suffered as well. However, she just completed her doubles Grand Slam last week. Maybe age is catching up with the Italian, making her unable to cover the entire court. Dulgheru will enjoy homecrowd support, and coupled with the Italian's absolute-no-form-to-speak-of, she will be the favourite here.

Pick: Dulgheru in 2 sets

Kiki Bertens vs. Irina Camelia-Begu

Kiki Bertens enjoyed a good run in Paris, winning her matches from qualifying all the way to the 4th round. Will she have what it takes to take down Irina, who's playing in front of her home crowd? These 2 have met 2 times previously, and Irina has won both times, including one this year in Oeiras. Can Kiki reverse the trend and clinch her first win? I believe Irina's form has dropped off again after picking up during the clay season. Kiki will be confident after her 4th round run, and can score her first win over the Romanian. Sometimes, support can also mean pressure.

Pick: Bertens in 3 sets

Stefanie Voegele vs. Elina Svitolina

Stefanie Voegele should be sending Julia Goerges a thank you card for her gifts during their first rounf match. Julia was just hitting everything way out and not bothering to craft out any sort of rally. Basically all Stefanie did was keep the ball in. I hope whoever paid to watch that match gets a refund. Elina will not be as nonsensical as Goerges, and will probably teach Voegele a lesson. Stefanie has been slumping this season, and I don't see her breaking out of her slump with such a horrific performance in her first round.

Pick: Svitolina in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Simona Halep, Monica Niculescu, Karolina Pliskova
Upset alert: Roberta Vinci, Irina Camelia Begu, Grace Min

Oeiras SF: Rejuvenated Kuznetsova

Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Elena Vesnina

When Kuznetsova is playing her best, not many people can stop her, especially on clay. Eugenie Bouchard was the unfortunate victim, showing that the Canadian has much to learn if she wants to conquer the red clay. Svetlana is playing very well at the moment, and should be able to topple Vesnina. Elena struggled through her matches and will no doubt be very tired in her semi-final.

Pick: Kuznetsova in 2 sets

Carla Suarez Navarro vs. Irina-Camelia Begu

Begu was in a deep slump for the past year and she seems to have broken the spell with an inspiring run here all the way from qualifying. She will be the underdog though against Carla Suarez Navarro, the top seed. Carla has been cruising through her matches so far, and looks good to reach the final with ease. The only thing that will hinder her progress is the thought of her being close to winning a title. The Spaniard is famous for being title-less, so the very thought of winning might scare the wits out of her.

Pick: Suarez Navarro in 2 sets

Guangzhou, Seoul day 3: Will a Chinese win Guangzhou?

Guangzhou schedule:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/1142/title/guangzhou-open

Seoul schedule:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/1143/title/kdb-korea-open

Match focus:

Zheng Jie vs. Timea Babos

With 4 Chinese in the second round, there might be some hope of a Chinese finally winning Guangzhou after Li Na in 2004. Zheng is the most experienced Chinese of all and she and Peng Shuai are China's best hopes of clinching the title. She faces the big serving Timea Babos, who played well to beat Lepchenko. Zheng loves big servers, that's why she managed to beat Venus Williams and push Serena to the edge. Babos has a huge serve too, and Zheng will redirect the power into laser like returns. With her less than impressive movement, Babos is at a disadvantage.

Pick: Zheng in 2 sets

Galina Voskoboeva vs. Monica Puig

Puig showed her fighting capabilities in her first round, and will need to be ready against the big hitter, Voskoboeva. Galina has a big serve and can dictate points from the first ball. Puig will have to be patient and draw the errors from Galina. If Puig gets drawn into a big hitting contest against Voskoboeva, she might come out as the loser.

Pick: Puig in 3 sets

Julia Goerges vs. Irina-Camelia Begu

Two of the biggest slumpers of the year finally win a match here. This will be a contest of who sucks less definitely. Julia Goerges has the more imposing game, so I expect her to win this. But know the German, she will prove me wrong once again by losing meekly to Irina-Camelia. Perhaps Julia needs a new coach, or just a holiday. She has the game, but not the brain to play tennis.

Pick: Goerges in 2 tight sets

Sure win bets: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Peng Shuai, Laura Robson

Upset alert: Lara Arruabarrena, Yvonne Meusburger

Bastaad, Bad Gastein day 4: Will Pennetta ever recapture her former glory?

Bastaad schedule:

Richel Hogenkamp vs. Lesia Tsurenko
Flavia Pennetta vs. Simona Halep
Serena Williams vs. Anna Tatishvili
Mathilde Johansson vs. Andrea Gamiz

Bad Gastein schedule:

Mandy Minella vs. Annika Beck
Yvonne Meusburger vs. Irina-Camelia Begu
Petra Martic vs. Patricia Mayr-Achleitner
Arantxa Rus vs. Estrella Cabeza Candela
Elina Svitolina vs. Chanelle Scheepers

Match focus:

Flavia Pennetta vs. Simona Halep

Flavia Pennetta's comeback so far has been lacklustre as she struggled to maintain her form throughout the entire match. There will be times where she plays brilliantly, followed by errors and uninspired play. One has to wonder if she continues like this, will she retire at the end of the year? Being 31, age definitely is a factor against the younger opponents, such as her opponent Simona. Halep is riding on the best form of her life and will run for hours if needed. Pennetta will have to conjure something special to beat this in form girl.

Pick: Halep in 2 sets

Yvonne Meusburger vs. Irina-Camelia Begu

Showing no signs of fatigue, last week's finalist Yvonne Meusburger ruthlessly dismissed her first round opponent with 2 bagels. This is a bad sign for Begu, who has done almost nothing this season. Meusburger's form is continuing and Begu is likely to be the next victim. With tournament favourites like Andrea Petkovic and Mona Barthel out in the early rounds, Yvonne might very well end up with her first tour title here.

Pick: Meusburger in 2 sets

Arantxa Rus vs. Estrella Cabeza Candela

Arantxa Rus finally wins a match! She stops her main tour losing streak at 13, winning zero matches on the main tour this year. Sadly, her run is going to end against in form Cadela, who just reached her maiden semi-final last week in Palermo. Candela's clay court game will be too much for the impatient Dutch player. If Rus manages to win this, it will be a very positive sign that she is back to her normal level.

Pick: Candela in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Lesia Tsurenko, Serena Williams, Annika Beck
Upset alert: Irina-Camelia Begu, Chanelle Scheepers