US Open day 7: Make or break for Caroline

Upset of the previous day:

Aleksandra Krunic def. Petra Kvitova 6-4 6-4

Following Halep's massive loss yesterday, Kvitova follows her footsteps in losing to another unheralded player. Aleksandra Krunic played the match of her life, running down shots that would have been winners against any other players, and managed to beat the reigning Wimbledon champion. Kvitova was unnerved by Krunic's impossible court coverage, and hit herself out of the tournament. Aleksandra's game is kind of like Wozniacki with a better forehand, so she has the potential to do well given how brainless the other players are. Another shocking loss for Kvitova when her draw has opened up considerably. Looks like her second Wimbledon was kind of fluky as well.

Schedule of play:

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/schedule/schedule13.html

Match focus:

Sara Errani vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Errani was lucky that Venus committed so many errors in her match, and she will be happy she's not facing Halep instead. Mirjana's game is even riskier than Venus, so Sara already had the perfect warm-up. The crowd will be firmly behind the Croatian though, as she's the story of the tournament so far, having struggled with her private life and making a comeback here after 15 years. Nevertheless, Sara will be prepared as she silenced her doubters defiantly against Venus, as the crowd was decidedly on Venus' side. Every fairytale has to end and not every story has a fairytale ending.

Pick: Errani in 2 sets

Maria Sharapova vs. Caroline Wozniacki

Plagued by serving woes and uneven play, Wozniacki has the perfect opportunity to upset the hard hitting Russian here. Lisicki's game was too risky, and the volatile German just couldn't find the court in her nervy 3rd round, but Wozniacki thrives on the big occasions. The Dane's superior court coverage will trouble Maria, and will make her hit that extra ball. Sharapova's game is frankly extremely fragile now, so Caroline just needs to keep getting the ball back with interest and make Sharapova make the error. An upset is very possible here.

Pick: Wozniacki in 3 sets

Belinda Bencic vs. Jelena Jankovic

Barely losing games, Jankovic is quietly advancing to the 2nd week with minimal fuss. One thing to note is that the Serbian has yet to lose serve in her 3 matches. While this is definitely about to change against Bencic, you can see that Jelena is more confident of her serve now, and her game flows with it. Bencic's game is kind of like Jelena, but the former number 1 has a better serve and more experience. With her cruising through her 3 matches, it's hard not to pick Jelena, even though Belinda will definitely put up a better fight.

Pick: Jankovic in 2 sets

Lucie Safarova vs. Peng Shuai

Peng's resurgence is very impressive, but she will meet someone who she has never beaten in 4 tries. Lucie Safarova is enjoying her best year in majors, reaching the latter stages in almost all the slams, and will be the favoured player to reach the last 8. Not too sure why Shuai is winless against Lucie, but Peng will need to mix things up to unnerve the Czech. Approach the net, hit some low slice shots, and make Lucie earn the point. That is precisely not Peng's game, so it's a done deal here.

Pick: Safarova in 2 sets

US Open day 6: Calm after the storm

Upset of the previous day:

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni def. Simona Halep 7-6(6) 6-2

3 players who were expected to win crashed out within minutes of each other, but none of them are as surprising as Halep's exit. Kerber lost to a future star, while Venus' erratic play would have given Errani a chance, but the steady Halep losing this early was just unforeseen. If Halep played her normal game, she would have won quite easily, given how Lucic loves to go for outrageous winners when out of position. However, when leading 5-2 in the first set, Simona just lost her plot and started committing silly errors. Credit to Mirjana as well for still going for her shots. This is an extremely bad loss for the Romanian, even though she has already qualified for Singapore. As for Mirjana, she will be elated at upsetting the world number 2 in the age of 32. Who knows how far she can go.

Schedule of play:

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/schedule/schedule12.html

Match focus:

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova vs. Eugenie Bouchard

Eugenie struggled to put away the dangerous Cirstea, but emerged victorious eventually. With so many upsets today, I believe there will be a calm after the storm. Despite having bad form coming into the Open, Bouchard is fighting through her matches here, which I believe is essential not to peak too early. She will have to be wary of the dangerous Strycova, as she can mix it up very well. Still, Eugenie's court speed is pretty good, so she should be able to win this one.

Pick: Bouchard in 2 tight sets

Elena Vesnina vs. Victoria Azarenka

Her first round was a mess, but Azarenka righted her ship with a clinical disposal of McHale. Looks like the old Azarenka is back. Against Vesnina, the Belarussian is firmly the favourite, even though Vesnina is a former top 20 player. The Russian's form is pretty bad coming into the Open, but was helped by her soft draw here. Victoria has had easy victories over Elena before, and I expect the same here.

Pick: Azarenka in 2 sets

Casey Dellacqua vs. Karolina Pliskova

This should be a nervy affair for these 2 players, having not reached the 2nd week of a slam before in their career. With the exit of Ivanovic, this section of the draw is wide open, and I believe Ana's conquerer is ready to emerge. Dellecqua is enjoying her best year on tour after her injury, but Pliskova has a huge serve and flat groundstrokes. Casey will have to disrupt the Czech's rhythm by deploying her lefty serve and make her hit awkward balls. Still, I believe Pliskova is confident after her win over Ivanovic, unless she lets her nonchalant attitude get to her.

Pick: Pliskova in 3 sets

Kaia Kanepi vs. Carla Suarez Navarro

Kaia Kanepi showed real grit, saving 2 match points against Samantha Stosur. Can she do it again against Carla is another question. Carla's game is frankly quite similar to Stosur, with a weaker serve of course. Both players use the backhand slices frequently, but Carla can hit some decent backhand topspin shots. Kaia's long drawn match with Samantha will probably have an effect here, but she should be well-rested after a day's break. As with the Stosur match, this will be a tight affair, and when things get tight, Carla breaks.

Pick: Kanepi in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Serena Williams, Flavia Pennetta, Petra Kvitova
Upset alert: Carla Suarez Navarro, Casey Dellacqua

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

Katowice day 4: Can Schiavone still spring an upset

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/3143/title/bnp-paribas-katowice-open

Match focus:

Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Francesca Schiavone

Schiavone might be struggling, but not to the extent of her compatriot, Roberta Vinci. As a former Grand Slam champion, does she have what it takes to topple Radwanska? If this match was played on clay, I wouldn't rule out an upset. But Katowice is played on hard courts (strangely), so the favourite will be Agnieszka. Schiavone will have flashes of brilliance as usual, but Radwanska will steadily wear her down.

Pick: Radwanska in 2 sets

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni vs. Yvonne Meusburger

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni has a huge game, but her unforced errors let her down 90% of the time. Against a steady player like Meusburger, Mirjana will be at a disadvantage. However, playing on hard fast courts will suit Mirjana more, and the Croatian has been on a roll lately. An upset is possible here is possible.

Pick: Lucic-Baroni in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Alize Cornet, Magdalena Rybarikova

Birmingham and Nurnberg Day 4: Petkovic's back

Birmingham:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/438/title/aegon-classic

Nurnberg:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/3204/title/n%FCrnberger-versicherungscup

Match focus:

Kirsten Flipkens vs. Magdalena Rybarikova

Kirsten might be suffering from the pressure of being the top seed as she barely scraped through her first round encounter. She will face a tougher test in Rybarikova, a former champion here. With her huge serve, Magdalena can look to ease through her service games and pressure the Belgian on her serve. Flipkens has played a lot of matches for the past few months so I believe fatigue might play a factor as well.

Pick: Rybarikova in 3 sets

Sabine Lisicki vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Former Wimbledon semi-finalists meet here as Sabine looks to capture her second title here in Birmingham. On paper, Lisicki is the huge favourite. But Mirjana is a threat on grass and if Sabine is having an of day, Lucic can take adavantage. As usual, Lisicki needs to find the right balance and not overhit her shots. If she can contain her wild hitting, she can be a top 10 fixture.

Pick: Lisicki in 2 close sets

Andrea Petkovic vs. Annika Beck

Sorry for featuring Andrea for 3 consecutive days but she has proven me right all the time. Fresh off her challenger triumph, Petkovic carried her good form into the main WTA tour with good victories over Arvidsson and Goerges. She will face another German, Annika Beck here. Beck has some easy power and cannot be taken lightly despite her inexperience. Petkovic needs to move Annika around and not let her dictate the points. I believe Andrea is back and she should be able to take this match without much difficulty.

Pick: Petkovic in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Simona Halep, Donna Vekic, Sorana Cirstea
Upset alert: Annika Beck, Kristina Mladenovic, Mona Barthel