Montreal final: Radwanska crashes Venus' party

Montreal final:

Agnieszka Radwanska def. Venus Williams 6-4 6-2

Agnieszka Radwanska definitely did not read the script today as she took out sentimental favourite Venus Williams in 2 straightforward sets. Well, Venus was too error-prone today and Radwanska did a great job at making her hit that extra ball. This is the Pole's first title this year, and rockets her to number 3 in the race to Singapore. As for Venus, she can take comfort in reaching the finals here, winning matches against higher ranked players. Let's hope she beings this confidence to New York and do some damage there.

Montreal final: Venus turns back time

Montreal final:

Venus Williams vs. Agineszka Radwanska

Striking the ball with real authority and covering the court with her huge strides, Venus Williams of the early 2000s was on display in her semi-final match against Serena Williams. The elder Williams's recent good form bodes well for her US Open campaign, and players will be eager to avoid this dangerous floater in the draw. However, Radwanska loves the absorb the power and turn it into some trick shots of her own. So Venus will need all her energy tonight. There is no doubt though that the crowd will be behind Venus, and besides, Agnieszka has faltered badly in big matches this year. Thus, I'm going with another 3 set victory for Venus to cap off her fairytale comeback.

Pick: Williams in 3 sets

Montreal SF: Venus vs. Serena part 25

Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams

As expected, Serena struggled but eventually subdued Caroline Wozniacki. Can she escape against her sister, Venus Williams? The elder sister has been inspirational throughout the week, fighting her heart out on the court. She knows her smaller sister's game inside out, so that is an advantage that the other players don't have. However, yet another draining 3 setter will definitely put Venus at a disadvantage. Serena always plays her best in big matches, and this is as big as it gets. Venus might pull a set off, but Serena will steady the ship eventually.

Pick: Serena in 3 sets

Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Ekaterina Makarova

A surprise semi-final appearance for Makarova here, and she will like her chances against Radwanska. The Russian won their last 2 matches, including a hammering in Wimbledon just 2 months ago. Nevertheless, Radwanska seems to be back in her groove as evidenced by her dismantling of Azarenka. I believe this should be a close match, with Makarova nervous at the prospect of entering a Premier final. I'm going to go with my heart and pick Makarova to cause an upset here to reach her first Premier final.

Pick: Makarova in 3 tight sets

Montreal QF: Path opens up for Venus

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/740/title/rogers-cup

Match focus:

Carla Suarez Navarro vs. Venus Williams

With the massive upsets yesterday, Venus Williams suddenly is the favourite to win here. Carla Suarez Navarro benefitted from a jarringly bad performance from Sharapova, when the Russian really should have lost in straight sets. Venus looks sharp after an upset of her own over Kerber, and looks poised to reach the semi-finals of a Premier event. Let's hope she's not too tired after her long match with Kerber.

Pick: Williams in 2 tight sets

Serena Williams vs. Caroline Wozniacki

Serena was tested against Safarova, but the Czech never had the mental strength to upset the number 1 seed anyway. The American will face a major test against resurgent Caroline Wozniacki, who breezed through her matches barely dropping games. There is no doubt that Serena's game can overpower the Dane. However, Serena will need to be sharp and stingy with her errors. The way Caroline is playing now resembles her peak form from 2011, which will trouble Serena. Let's see how Serena handles her.

Pick: Serena in 3 tight sets

Coco Vandeweghe vs. Ekaterina Makarova

Serbian killer, Coco Vandeweghe surprises everyone by reaching the quarter-finals here. Her big serve suits the hard courts here, and her game is more mature than it was a few years ago. She will face Makarova, who upset Kvitova in another roller coaster match. Seems like consistency will never be Petra's forte. These 2 are quite evenly matched, but Makarova is more experienced on the big stage. The Russian should be the slight favourite here, as Coco had 2 marathon matches in a row.

Pick: Makarova in 3 sets

Victoria Azarenka vs. Agnieszka Radwanska

Even though Azarenka owns a commanding lead over Radwanska in their career heads-to-heads, Radwanska dismantled the Belarussian in their last match in Melbourne. Since then, Victoria has never been the same again. Coming back from injury, Victoria seemed to have lost some zip in her shots, and her serve is more inconsistent. Agnieszka will capitalize on that vulnerability and try to slowly even the heads-to-heads. If Azarenka wins this though, it will be her announcement to the world that she is truly back.

Pick: Radwanska in 3 sets

Montreal day 4: Can Venus cause an upset?

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/740/title/rogers-cup

Match focus:

Venus Williams vs. Angelique Kerber

Peak Venus would have owned Kerber easily with her forceful serves and groundstrokes. However, now that Venus is a tad slower and more error-prone, Kerber's game is the perfect strategy to counter Venus. The German's game is scrappy which will induce plenty of errors from Venus. The elder Williams isn't powerful enough to hit her opponents to submission anymore. She will need to rely on a high percentage of first serves to stand a chance. My heart says Venus, but my mind says Kerber.

Pick: Kerber in 2 tight sets

Sabine Lisicki vs. Agnieszka Radwanska

Radwanska's recent form has not been good as she's been losing to power hitters who were on. She will face the same trouble here against Lisicki, who can overpower her if she's clicking. Radwanska will need to grind out the points and make Sabine win the point. The German is looking confident at the moment, and could possibly cause an upset here. She has beaten Agnieszka before, so she will be looking to replicate that again.

Pick: Lisicki in 3 sets

Caroline Wozniacki vs. Shelby Rogers

What an upset that Shelby caused by gifting Eugenie Bouchard 2 bagels. Her massive hitting game reminds me of Davenport, and could very well be America's next big hope. Let's see how she fares against Wozniacki, who is playing herself back to form. Caroline is on a winning streak dating back to Istanbul, and will be looking forward to dismantling the powerful American's game. The Dane thrives on pace, so she will be eager to chase down all the balls and make Rogers commit the errors.

Pick: Wozniacki in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka
Upset alert: Agnieszka Radwanska

Montreal day 3: Serena and Montreal don't mix?

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/740/title/rogers-cup

Match focus:

Serena Williams vs. Samantha Stosur

A rematch of the 2011 US Open final, Serena Williams will be making her appearance since her debut in 2000. Serena and Montreal seemed to have differing paths as the American is either injured, or chose to skip the event when it is held there. Stosur will provide a stern test for Serena, who is not in peak form yet. Nevertheless, Stosur's form is even worse, losing to unheralded Osaka last week, so I think Serena will be fine. She might struggle at first, but should be able to win this.

Pick: Williams in 3 sets

Jelena Jankovic vs. Sloane Stephens

Jelena Jankovic will be eager to put away her atrocious grass season and start anew on her favourite hard courts. Immediately, she will face a tough opponent in Sloane Stephens, who annihilated Aleksandra Wozniak. Jelena's confidence must be a bit fragile given her winless grass season, but hard courts is where she excels. Sloane will push her, but Jelena thrives on pace, and will grind Sloane to make errors. If she's motivated enough, Jelena should be able to take this.

Pick: Jankovic in 3 sets

Sabine Lisicki vs. Madison Keys

Battle of the big servers here. Sabine Lisicki proved everyone wrong by demolishing Errani, and looks to be in good form on hard courts. Madison Keys got lucky that Kuznetsova got injured, gifting her a second round place. On current form, I believe Lisicki is playing better. Keys is still under an injury cloud that forced her out of Wimbledon. It might flare up any moment. Sabine, on the other hand, is taking baby steps in winning matches she's supposed to win, and also causing an upset over Errani. When the German is confident, she will be lethal.

Pick: Lisicki in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki
Upset alert: Madison Keys, Dominika Cibulkova, Carla Suarez Navarro

Montreal day 2: Venus ready for a good run

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/740/title/rogers-cup

Match focus:

Venus Williams vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

I firmly believe that Venus is playing at least top 20 level tennis currently. She has the ability to upset a few top players, but when it becomes a long drawn 3-setter, she loses out with her lack of stamina. Against Pavlyuchenkova, Venus should be able to overcome the Russian. The volatile Russian is capable of producing some fine shots of her own, but she's unable to string them together. I think Venus has the potential to reach at least the quarter-finals here.

Pick: Venus in 2 sets

Victoria Azarenka vs. Alize Cornet

Azarenka's return from injury has not been kind to her. She's taking baby steps at the moment, but she seems to be improving with every match. In a way, Cornet will be a perfect test for Azarenka to see if she's ready to play top-tier tennis. Alize's game will make Victoria hit plenty of balls, so Azarenka will need to balance between defense and offense well. If she can handle Alize in convincing fashion, I believe the world number 1 Azarenka is back.

Pick: Azarenka in 3 sets

Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Madison Keys

Recent Washington winner Svetlana Kuznetsova will attempt to bring her good form here to Montreal, but she faces the big hitting American, Madison Keys. Fatigue will definitely be a factor for the Russian as she's no longer a spring chicken. Nevertheless, I think Svetlana has the experience on her side, as she will attempt to make Keys win the point on her own accord. Once Kuznetsova gets on a roll, she's a tough customer to handle.

Pick: Kuznetsova in 2 tight sets

Sure win bets: Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Garbine Muguruza
Upset alert: Zhang Shuai, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Montreal day 1: Pennetta under threat

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/740/title/rogers-cup

Match focus:

Flavia Pennetta vs. Yulia Putintseva

Flavia marks her return to tour from yet another injury with a tricky first round opponent. Yulia Putintseva is a feisty competitor, and can get onto the opponent's nerves. If Flavia isn't fully recovered, she will have a tough time handling Yulia's flat strokes. Coupled with the youngster's taunting come-ons, Flavia might just lose it. A tough draw for the Italian, who has done almost close to nothing since her Indian Wells triumph.

Pick: Putintseva in 3 sets

Sara Errani vs. Sabine Lisicki

On grass, Sabine Lisicki would have been the clear winner given how well she excels on that surface. However, that part of the season is gone, and Sabine is back to her struggling ways. Sara's game is deceptively efficient on hard courts, so Sabine cannot expect to just simply blast the Italian away. The German needs to be patient and attack on the right balls. If not, it will be an extremely ugly match which Sara will emerge the winner.

Pick: Errani in 3 sets

Sorana Cirstea vs. Lucie Safarova

Defending finalist Cirstea will be under loads of pressure to defend her points here. Sorana is still in the top 50 purely based on the finalist points last year. If she loses here, she will be well below the top 50, which is not a surprise given her appalling results this year. It is not hopeless yet for Sorana, as she meets the equally volatile Lucie Safarova. The Czech looked to be in the form of her life, when she unexpectedly got knocked out last week in Washington as the top seed. Looks like consistency will never be in these 2 girls' dictionary. Cirstea has more shocking losses this year, so the edge clearly belongs to Safarova.

Pick: Safarova in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Dominika Cibulkova, Heather Watson, Roberta Vinci
Upset alert: Flavia Pennetta, Sloane Stephens, Alize Cornet