Sofia F: Halep's got this in her bag

Simona Halep vs. Samantha Stosur

A rematch of the Moscow final where Halep won easily, it's difficult to pick against the Romanian, whose 2nd half of the year was just stellar. If not for her first half of the year, she will definitely be top 10, or even top 5. Her drastic improvement has to be accredited to her coach change, and it will be exciting to see what she can accomplish next year with the pressure on her. Samantha Stosur also "woke up" after her US Open failure, and only lost to her boogeywoman, Lucie Safarova, and Simona Halep since. Against Halep, Samantha needs to serve big and take the net to end the points early. Any long drawn rallies will inevitably end up as a backhand extended rally which Simona will come out on top 9 out of 10 times. With her patient and counterpunching play, Simona will cruise to her 6th title of the year, knocking on top 10's door.

Pick: Halep in 2 sets

Sofia SF: Halep vs Ivanovic; winner to win it all?

Samantha Stosur vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Interesting line-up here in Sofia as the players almost mirror the Moscow semi-finals, but with different match ups. Stosur is coming off an impressive fall season which saw her win in Osaka and made a final run in Moscow. Except the small blip against Ivanovic, she is almost flawless. She will be the favourite against Pavlyuchenkova as she leads the heads to heads 2-1. The indoor courts will give Stosur the added advantage as she will not shank as many balls as compared to outdoors. Pavlyuchenkova needs to serve well, but her serve is the weakest part of her game.

Pick: Stosur in 2 tight sets

Simona Halep vs. Ana Ivanovic

Yikes... The way Ana lost her match against Vesnina shows that her mental frailty is still there. That loss cause a blemish as that's her first loss in the Tournament of Champions in 3 years. Against Halep, Ivanovic will stand no chance if she chokes a lead like that. However, it's almost certain that Ivanovic won't even get that kind of lead, as Halep is just tearing up the lower tier events. Her superior record over the rest of the field shows that she's bound to clinch this title, and despite Ana's winning record over her, it is set to change. Ana needs to return very well, but her backhand weakness will be full exposed by the tactical Halep.

Pick: Halep in 2 sets

Sofia day 4: Pavlyuchenkova and Cornet vie for semi-final place

Ana Ivanovic vs. Elena Vesnina

Ana proved to be the undisputed queen of this event by winning against Stosur. She maintains her flawless record in Tournament of Champions and looks set to continue her winning ways against Vesnina. The Russian lost a set against Pironkova, which is an indication of her dire form. Ana will wallop Elena and end the Russian's season here.

Pick: Ivanovic in 2 sets

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Alize Cornet

The winner of this match proceeds to the semi-final, so I believe they will be fighting their hearts out. On the fast indoor courts, you have to favour the Russian. Cornet's loopy strokes will be sitting ducks for Anastasia to punish. However, I believe the Frenchwoman will put up a good fight before going down.

Pick: Pavlyuchenkova in 3 sets

Samantha Stosur vs. Tsvetana Pironkova

Stosur in 2 easy sets. I repeat myself, Pironkova doesn't belong here.

Sofia day 3: Can Ivanovic spring a surprise?

Ana Ivanovic vs. Samantha Stosur

These 2 players just played a few weeks ago in Moscow, so I don't expect a different result on a similar surface. Ana needs to study what she did wrong in Moscow, and try to correct them against Stosur. I do expect a closer match this time, but I don't see Ana springing a surprise here despite her being higher ranked.

Pick: Stosur in 3 sets

Elena Vesnina vs. Tsvetana Pironkova

Vesnina in 2 easy sets. Pironkova doesn't belong here and never did.

Simona Halep vs. Elina Svitolina

Simona has already qualified, so it depends whether she wants to put in the effort or not. Still, I expect a half assed Simona to be too much for Svitolina. Elina only made it here by winning one of the weakest tournaments on tour.

Pick: Halep in 2 sets

Sofia day 2: Forgone conclusions

Samantha Stosur vs. Elena Vesnina

Coming off a disappointing Istanbul, Vesnina will attempt to brush that away with a win over Stosur. It doesn't bode well for the lower ranked Russian as she was the weak link in the doubles match final. Committing numerous crucial errors and dragging Makarova down, Vesnina didn't deserve to win the final. She might also be suffering from a hangover from the disastrous showing there, so I expect Stosur to even the heads to heads. Playing indoors will definitely help Samantha with less elements to disrupt her serve and whippy strokes.

Pick: Stosur in 2 sets

Simona Halep vs. Alize Cornet

Simona Halep has won 5 titles this year and looks good to add another title here in Sofia. Against Cornet, she will stand as the firm favourite, even though Alize has a win under her belt. Simona's lightning quick court coverage will make Alize go for her shots, something which she is not used to. Also, Simona's forehand will murder Cornet's loopy forehand. I expect a quick win for the Romanian without much drama.

Pick: Halep in 2 sets

Elina Svitolina vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

As expected, Kirilenko's injury flared up and Svitolina was called in for a replacement. Anyway, Pavlyuchenkova will beat anyone who's not named Halep in her group, so this match is a forgone conclusion. Elina probably is just happy to be there and not fully prepared for this match. Look out for an easy win for the Russian.

Pick: Pavlyuchenkova in 2 sets

Sofia day 1: Simona the huge favourite

Ana Ivanovic vs Tsvetana Pironkova

These two are the only wild card entries here but only one is deserving of her wild card. Pironkova's appeal in Bulgaria is debatable, so it makes no sense to me to award a wild card to her for doing nothing much this year. Granted, she had a good run to the fourth round in Winbledon, but other than that, she practically invisible. Look out for an easy win for Ana.

Pick: Ivanovic in 2 sets

Maria Kirilenko vs Alize Cornet

It's difficult to predict Maria's matches as she has a thing for competing injured. We don't know for sure if she's fully healthy yet. However, she did push Serena in Beijing, so I expect her to be almost back. Against Cornet, she should have an advantage as Alize prefers the slow clay, even though she has a losing record against the Frenchwoman. Kirilenko needs to be careful though, as Cornet can spring a surprise if she's not focused.

Pick: Kirilenko in 3 sets

Simona Halep vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

A rematch of the recent Moscow semi finals, Halep takes on Anastasia again in their opening Sofia match. On a similar surface, I expect the same results as Moscow, where the Russian got blown away by the Romanian. This tournament is Simona's to lose, having a stellar second half of the season and recent wins over the players participating here.

Pick: Halep in 2 sets