Beijing day 7: Li flops

Maria Sharapova def. Li Na 6-4 6-0

Just when you thought Li is playing well, she reverts back to her erroneous ways and flops badly in front of her home crowd. It wasn't as though Sharapova played brilliantly as well. Maria only made 8 winners in this whole match. Goes to show how bad Li must have been playing. The Chinese is bound to get another round of hammering from her fans as she exits her home tournament in the worst possible way. Sharapova will now face Azarenka, and will try to win her first hardcourt title of the season.

Victoria Azarenka def. Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-2

No upsets here as Marion falls easily to Victoria Azarenka. Victoria wasn't playing well but Marion was pretty dire as well. Even though Azarenka was shaking in her service games, Marion was far worse as she was broken countless times. It seems that Bartoli will forever remain as a player who will always loiter in the lower part of the top 10 but never breakthrough. Azarenka heads to yet another final and will be favoured to win her first title since Indian Wells.

Beijing final:

Maria Sharapova vs Victoria Azarenka

No surprises here as the top 2 seeds meet in the finals. Both have relatively straightforward routes to the finals but Sharapova impressed with quality wins over Kerber and Li. Azarenka is her normal consistent self and will be the favourite going into the final, having won their last few hard court outings. However, Sharapova seems to have picked up a notch in this tournament, demolishing her last 2 opponents with bagels. Can Sharapova finally solve the Azarenka mystery? Or will Victoria continue her dominance over Sharapova on hard courts? I believe Sharapova is primed for a hard court title and she looks to be peaking at the right time. I am going to go with the upset here and pick Maria for the win.

Pick: Sharapova in 3 sets

Beijing Day 7: Li to win it all?

Victoria Azarenka vs. Marion Bartoli

Azarenks is sitting pretty at the top of the rankings and getting very used to it. She is 2 wins away from another Premier title but Bartoli stands in her way. Marion was the player who snapped her impressive winning streak at the start of the year but she went off the charts for a while. Now chasing (albeit unsuccessfully) for a place in YEC, Marion started to play well again. It will be a big blow to her to find out she has not qualified despite her recent good form. I believe Victoria wants revenge for her loss earlier this year and Bartoli will be a bit deflated about not qualifying. So, this points to another Azarenka win as the Belarussian cements her spot at the top.

Pick: Azarenka in 2 sets

Maria Sharapova vs. Li Na

Sharapova and Li are both in imperious form coming into this semi-final. Sharapova has to work with the partisan crowd but she is well-known to shut these out very effectively. Will the Chinese crowd get to Maria? Or will the pressure get to Li first? This will be a tough match to call as Li is as wildly fluctuating as ever. Whatever the result, let's hope this match will live up to its expectations and not become an error fest.

Pick: Sharapova in 3 tight sets

Beijing day 6: Li Na completes YEC line up

Results:

(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Romina Oprandi (SUI) 62 60
(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (5) Angelique Kerber (GER) 60 30 ret. (right foot injury)
(7) Li Na (CHN) d. (3) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 64 62
(9) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) 60 26 64

(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (5) Angelique Kerber (GER) 60 30 ret. (right foot injury)

Right foot injury? Kerber quits while looking relatively fine as Sharapova played unbelievable tennis. She absolutely demolished Kerber, who was running around fine before she came up with this "injury". Maybe what was injured was her ego. If Sharapova brings this form towards the YEC, she might have a good chance of winning it. However, she somehow just cannot conjure this form against Azarenka and Serena Williams. Sharapova will face Chinese hopeful Li in the semi-finals, and the Russian needs to defeat Li and the crowd.

(7) Li Na (CHN) d. (3) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 64 62

Agnieszka Radwanska is held together by bandages and tapes, so it's no wonder she collapses against a healthy Li playing in front of her home crowd. Radwanska was her normal defensive self but Li refused to miss as she shook off her poor form in her previous match. Radwanska needs to rest because she has played too many unnecessary tournaments this year and her body is breaking down fast. As for Li, if she can continue this form, the next match against Sharapova will be a blockbuster showcase of hard hitting tennis.

Beijing Day 6: All Chinese showdown

Polona Hercog vs. Maria Sharapova

Li Na vs Peng Shuai

Victoria Azarenka vs. Elena Vesnina

Angelique Kerber vs. Caroline Wozniacki

Li Na vs Peng Shuai

All Chinese eyes will be on this match as 2 Chinese players battle it out in the capital of China. Li is chasing a spot in the YEC and will be eager to win this match and maybe the event to cement her place in the top 8. Peng did well to defeat Shvedova but beating Li will be a tough task for her. Peng needs to hope that Li has an off day and starts spraying errors, while she needs to play clean tennis herself. With the tutelage of Carlos Rodriguez, Li seems to be playing better than ever. So it will be tough to pick against her.

Pick: Li in 2 sets

Angelique Kerber vs. Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki is fighting for a place in the YEC and she needs to win every match she plays here and in her later tournaments. Will she step it up and make a last ditch attempt to qualify? Well, she barely survived her last match against Hsieh so I'm not getting my hopes too high. Kerber is a workhorse and despite losing in a terribly lopsided scoreline last week in Tokyo, she was just outplayed by Radwanska. With Wozniacki's lack of imagination on court, it will be tough for the Dane to outplay Kerber. Also, her over-eagerness may cause her to go for too much and commit uncharacteristic errors.

Pick: Kerber in 2 tight sets

Sure win bets: Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka

Upset alert: Sorry but really none! Maybe Angelique Kerber but I highly doubt so!

Beijing Day 5: Serbian failures

Singles - Third Round
(3) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (Q) Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) 26 61 64
(9) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. Julia Goerges (GER) 63 76(2)
Romina Oprandi (SUI) d. (11) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 64 63
Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 75 64

Singles - Second Round
(2) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) 62 62
(Q) Polona Hercog (SLO) d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 76(5) 36 76(3)

Romina Oprandi (SUI) d. (11) Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 64 63

I thought Ana Ivanovic is back on track with her brilliant fightback against Lepchenko but I was so wrong. She was indeed troubled by Oprandi's junk balls and made no adjustments to these weird spinning balls. I doubted Romina as she often opted to play in challengers instead of main tour events. However, she proved that she deserves to be playing in the main tour events this time, reaching her first premier quarter-final since 2006 Rome. She will face most probably Azarenka next, and Victoria will be sure to give Romina a good workout.

Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP) d. Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 75 64

Another Serbian fails against an unfavoured opponent as Jelena Jankovic falls against Carla Suarez Navarro. Carla is primarily a clay courter with sporadic good hard court results, so it's a surprise to see her take out 2 good opponents in a row. However, Carla's win had a lot to do with her opponents sorry state of play. Kvitova couldn't keep a ball in court while Jelena cannot hold serve to save her life. Jelena wastes a chance to contest in a Premier quarter-final since earlier this year in Dubai. She needs to take a long break and access what is wrong with her game. Her continual downward spiral is just sad and mind-boggling.

(Q) Polona Hercog (SLO) d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 76(5) 36 76(3)

Oh wow... Makarova led 5-1 in the 3rd set but choked so badly from then on. She loses to Polona Hercog, who rarely wins on hardcourts. This match is a lesson to all that no matter how lousy you think your opponent is, never assume you are going to win when you are 5-1 up. Polona fans must be elated as she seldom wins matches on any other surface other than clay. While Makarova will definitely be fuming mad at this wasted opportunity.

Beijing day 5: Marion to qualify for YEC?

Ana Ivanovic vs. Romina Oprandi
Sorana Cirstea vs. Maria Sharapova
Marion Bartoli vs. Julia Goerges
Carla Suárez Navarro vs. Jelena Jankovic
Lourdes Domínguez Lino vs. Agnieszka Radwanska
Ekaterina Makarova vs. Polona Hercog

Marion Bartoli vs. Julia Goerges

Julia Goerges has already dented the hopes of one YEC hopeful. Will she cause another upset here to another YEC candidate? Highly unlikely as Goerges has just lost comprehensively to Bartoli last week in Tokyo. Besides, Goerges was considered to be at her peak form in 2010 clay where she lost to Bartoli in the French Open. Somehow, Bartoli's game just fits well to Julia's. Even though Goerges likes to spring surprises when we are not expecting it, I doubt she can do it this time.

Pick: Bartoli in 2 sets

Ana Ivanovic vs. Romina Oprandi

Ana Ivanovic saved 2 match points in her previous round against Varvara Lepchenko to face the tricky Italian, Romina Oprandi. Has Ivanovic found her former form which led her to her lone slam win? Judging by her play, she is more confident now but her form is no where near her slam winning form. Oprandi is an annoying player to deal with because she doesn't give you a rhythm. And Ana is a rhythm player. If someone disrupts her flow, she will commit ugly unforced errors. That said, I don't think Oprandi is ready for an upset as she's always struck me as a nonchalant player. I don't think she believes that she has the game to beat the top players.

Pick: Ivanovic in 3 sets

Sorana Cirstea vs. Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova carries on her struggle with form as she barely scraped through her first round match against Simona Halep. She now faces an even more brainless basher than her in Sorana Cirstea. Well, I can safely say that these girls will not be holding back on their shots. Sorana has the weapons, but most of the time, they are misfiring. So I believe Sharapova will cruise through this match if she gets her serve sorted out. If she throws in too many 2nd serves, things might get interesting.

Pick: Sharapova in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Agnieszka Radwanska, Jelena Jankovic

Upset alert: None!

Beijing day 4: Crazy Goerges strikes again

Firstly, I must apologize for being M.I.A for the past 2 days because I was down with a serious flu! Couldn't find the energy to update this blog. So sorry for the inactivity!

Singles - Second Round
(1) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Sabine Lisicki (GER) 64 62
(3) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. (WC) Zhang Shuai (CHN) 62 63
(5) Angelique Kerber (GER) d. (Q) Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino (ESP) 62 60
(7) Li Na (CHN) d. Nadia Petrova (RUS) 61 62
Julia Goerges (GER) d. (8) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 76(2) 46 75
(9) Marion Bartoli (FRA) d. (Q) Ayumi Morita (JPN) 64 63
(10) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) 67(5) 76(3) 60
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. Monica Niculescu (ROU) 62 61
Romina Oprandi (SUI) d. (Q) Camila Giorgi (ITA) 75 62
(Q) Lourdes Domínguez Lino (ESP) d. (Q) Laura Robson (GBR) 75 63

Julia Goerges (GER) d. (8) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 76(2) 46 75

Goerges, who is absolutely out of form in recent months, springs another surprise by upsetting Samantha Stosur in 3 tight sets. Julia went for her shots and they actually landed in this time. Stosur was undone by 14 double faults but shouldn't be ashamed of her performance though. Julia just played the important points better. Samantha's chances of making the YEC suffers another blow as she loses precious points here. She must perform extremely well in Osaka now to cement her place in the YEC.

(7) Li Na (CHN) d. Nadia Petrova (RUS) 61 62

Ouch! Falling from cloud nine is Nadia Petrova, who defied all odds to win in Tokyo last week. She was brought down to earth by her pigeon, Li Na, whom she has never lost to. Perhaps Nadia partied too much after her win but this thrashing is really out of the blue. Credit has to be given to Li, who didn't panic when she was leading and carried her advantage to the end. Nadia will try to regroup; but her chances of making the YEC are over.

(10) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) 67(5) 76(3) 60

Wow... Wozniacki escapes from jail again with a gritty win over Hsieh. Su-Wei led 3-0 in the 2nd set with multiple game points and break points in each game but was unable to convert them. When she lost the tight tiebreak in the 2nd set, she crumbled, winning only 8 points in the 3rd. Wozniacki was lucky that she faced somebody who is completely exhausted in the end, because if she faced someone who bothered to fight back, she might be in trouble. Once again, Wozniacki struggles against someone who can belt a ball. One has to wonder if someday she loses her weapon, which is her speed, how will she be able to win these kind of matches?