Baku day 3: Return of form for younger Radwanska?

Schedule of play:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/2184/title/baku-cup

Match focus:

Misa Eguchi vs. Urzsula Radwanska

Who is Misa Eguchi and how did Rybarikova lose to her? Since nobody really watched the match, we can only imagine it was due to Magdalena's non-existent form this year. Well, at least she will always find a way to beat Andrea Petkovic. Urszula must be relieved at facing a lower ranked player, having to retire in her last match against Rybarikova. If Urszula is injury-free, she should be able to cruise through this match.

Pick: Radwanska in 2 sets

Vesna Dolonc vs. Shahar Peer

Vesna Dolonc took half a year off to recover from her injury, and it will be a tough task to get into a winning groove immediately. She got lucky by drawing a local wildcard in her opening match, but against veteran Shahar Peer, she's not going to get it easy. Not saying that Dolonc cannot trouble her, but Peer will be more sharp having played in more tournaments. Nevertheless, Peer has been slumping for a while now, so an upset is also possible.

Pick: Peer in 3 sets

Jana Cepelova vs. Pauline Parmentier

Coming off a strong showing in Bastaad, Cepelova will fancy her chances against Parmentier. However, the surface now is hard courts, which will favour Pauline's heavier groundstrokes. Jana will need to cover a lot of court to draw the errors from the Frenchwoman. Pauline was impressive in her dismissal of Dulgheru, let's see if she can continue to surprise.

Pick: Parmentier in 3 sets

Luxembourg, Moscow day 4: No surprises?

Luxembourg schedule:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/233/title/bgl-bnp-paribas-luxembourg-open

Moscow schedule:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/664/title/kremlin-cup-by-bank-of-moscow

Match focus:

Karin Knapp vs. Andrea Petkovic

As predicted, Bouchard was undone by her intense travelling and Petkovic took advantage of that. The German will be the favourite against Karin Knapp, as she attempts to defend her finalist points. Karin's long swings will not be suitable in this fast indoor surface and Petkovic can flatten her strokes to great effect. Andrea just needs to concentrate and not let her mind go off focus as she is prone to these days.

Pick: Petkovic in 2 sets

Samantha Stosur vs. Alize Cornet

Stosur is enjoying a nice run of form recently and will be confident of her chances against Cornet. The Aussie has been on a winning streak and looks good to continue with her straightforward win over Kanepi. Stosur leads the heads to heads with Cornet 3-2, winning their last encounter a few weeks ago in Tokyo. If fatigue doesn't set in, I don't see why Samantha won't win this. Alize has always played Stosur close though, so it will be a close fight.

Pick: Stosur in 3 sets

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Vesna Dolonc

Hantuchova must thank a lot of players for taking out the seeded players for her. The seeds fell in US Open, where she took advantage and reach her first quarter-finals in 5 years. Now, Dolonc has done her a good deed by taking out Cibulkova, definitely a much tougher opponent than Dolonc. The Slovak has a winning record against Vesna, and will be poised to reach another quarter-finals here. The only thing going for Dolonc is that she's a former Russian. However, that may also be a negative as the fiercely patriotic Russian might see her as a traitor. Whoever the crowd supports, I believe Hantuchova has this in the bag.

Pick: Hantuchova in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Sabine Lisicki, Ana Ivanovic, Simona Halep
Upset alert: None

Quebec City, Tashkent day 2: Giorgi to continue her form

Quebec City schedule:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/590/title/challenge-bell

Tashkent schedule:



Match focus:

Lauren Davis vs. Camila Giorgi

Camila's game is so hit or miss that you'll never know what will happen to her. But based on her recent US Open form, she seems to have hit her stride and will carry her form forward. Davis was unceremoniously dumped out with a double bagel in US Open. That is going to hurt for a while. Facing an in form player, her hopes are bleak.

Pick: Giorgi in 2 sets

Anna Tatishvili vs. Lucie Safarova

Can somebody tell me what Tatishvili has done to warrant so many main draw appearances? It seems that she loses in every one of them but yet continues to be grant main draw entry. Lucie will be delighted at facing Anna, as she is dropping down the rankings herself. Not too sure what's going on for Lucie but maybe she just needs a break. Anyway, the Czech should be able to take this match. If Lucie loses this, she should really consider taking the rest of the year off.

Pick: Safarova in 2 sets

Yaroslava Shvedova vs. Vesna Dolonc

Coming off a good showing in US Open, Shvedova should be the favourite to take this title. She faces Vesna Dolonc, a steady but unimpressive player who can outlast players who are not having their day. Dolonc doesn't have a huge weapon whereas Shvedova has tons of them. It's just that Yaroslava has the tendency to think too much and lose her concentration. If she puts her mind to it, she will blow Dolonc in 2 easy sets.

Pick: Shvedova in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Julia Glushko, Petra Cetkovska, Maria-Tereza Torro-Flor, Bethanie Mattek Sands, Lucie Safarova
Upset alert: Lauren Davis, Eleni Daniilidou, Mirjana Baroni-Lucic