Singapore player focus: Ana Ivanovic

Season highlights

Ivanovic has the most wins of all the players this year, winning 4 titles including 2 Premier ones. This is a remarkable improvement compared to her last 5 years, where she seemed to stall in the top 20. It seems that Ana is finally back to her 2008 form which brought her her first Grand Slam and number 1 ranking. As successful as she is this year, she came short in the slams, getting to the quarter-finals only once. If she had performed better in the big events, she could have easily entered the top 5. 

Playing style

Ana dominates play with her monstrous forehand. The Serbian's first serve is also big, which sets up easy put aways for her. Her weaker backhand has improved substantially this year, and Ana has showed great eagerness to end points at the net. All these improvements are not as important as her strides made in her mental game. Ivanovic does not lose her concentration as much as last time, and she has finally fixed that wayward toss of hers. 

Chances of winning Singapore: 65%

Ana has beaten Serena in Australia, snapping her winning streak, and upset Sharapova on clay, giving her the only loss on the red surface. It will be silly to write her off since she's not part of the top seeds. Her advancement will depend a lot on whether she's drawn in the same group as Kvitova really. Poor Ana hasnt found a solution to the Czech puzzle, so she will hope to avoid the hard hitting world number 3. Whether she makes it to the semi-finals or not, I believe Ana won't leave Singapore winless. 

Prediction: Semi-finals

Singapore player focus: Agnieszka Radwanska

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Season highlights:

Radwanska's season has been marked with disappointments. With the exception of her Montreal title, she was always losing the important matches in the latter stages. Yes, she's consistent, but Aga lacks the killer blow to win the big titles. The path was clear for her to win her first slam in Melbourne after upsetting Azarenka, but instead she falls to Cibulkova, a player she double bagelled just last year. With her poor form in recent months, she barely made it to the top 8, and her chances here are slim. 

Game style

Known for her court craft, Radwanska will not overpower you with big ground strokes. Instead, she uses her bag of tricks which include deft drop shots, slices and lobs to make life a nightmare. However, her game is quite dependent on her opponent's level of play. If her opponent is seeing the ball well, Radwanska tends to be overpowered. 

Chances of winning Singapore: 10%

After her title run in Montreal, Agnieszka went AWOL, posting a 6-5 win loss record some then. The only respectable loss in that period was to Wozniacki. The rest of her losses are inexcusable and shows how bad her form is now. Personally, I don't think Agnieszka herself has any high hopes of performing well here either. Of the elite eight, Radwanska will be the one who everyone's looking forward to draw. 

Prediction: Round robin

Moscow, Luxembourg day 3: Forza Italia

Moscow schedule of play:

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

Match focus:

Flavia Pennetta vs. Camila Giorgi

An all Italian clash features the young Camila Giorgi versus the veteran Flavia Pennetta. Giorgi is coming off a final appearance in Linz, but she lost a heartbreaker there. Can she turn it around for Moscow? Pennetta's form after US Open has been bad, so Camila stands a good chance, but I do think that her loss in Linz will haunt her for a while. Flavia also has the experience to weather the bombs that Giorgi throws at her.

Pick: Pennetta in 3 tight sets

Monica Niculescu vs. Mona Barthel

On an indoor surface, I would expect Mona Barthel to perform better. The German has won Paris Indoors before, so she would have the experience of playing under such conditions. Niculescu's junky game will be less of a factor in the indoor environment, so Barthel should be able to belt her winners at will. Mona has a clean game, but tends to make silly errors at inopportune times. I still believe she needs a new coach to bring her game to the next level.

Pick: Barthel in 3 sets

Johanna Larsson vs. Polona Hercog

Both players have a glaring weakness, which is their backhands. These 2 players seem contend to be languishing inside the top 100, not making a concerted effort to improve their weakness or game. Nevertheless, Larsson's recent form has been decent, with a 3rd round showing in US Open, and an upset of Kirsten Flipkens in her first round. That should give her the confidence boost she needs. Polona also claimed an upset over Erakovic, but it's not as significant as Larsson's win over a seeded player. Whoever wins this will probably be ousted in the next round though.

Pick: Larsson in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ekaterina Makarova, Alize Cornet, Sabine Lisicki
Upset alert: Monica Niculescu

Singapore player focus: Caroline Wozniacki

Season Highlights

Post Wimbledon, nobody would have expected Caroline Wozniacki to make it to the elite 8. The Dane was nursing a broken heart from a very public breakup, and seemed lost on the courts. It all changed in Istanbul, where she cruised to the title barely losing games. This gave her the confidence boost, posting incredibly consistent results thereafter. Her highlight of the season has to be her great run to the finals in US Open, where she upset Sharapova in straight sets, and destroyed Sara Errani's game in double quick time. 

Game style 

Wozniacki is the tireless retriever who plays her best tennis when being pulled around the court. Her best asset is her never give up attitude, together with her outstanding court coverage. With a dependable first serve and backhand, she earns easy points when her first serve percentage is up. However, her less than lethal forehand and second serve puts her on the defensive immediately. Not a natural volleyer, Wozniacki can venture to the net to put away easy high balls, but her instinctive volleys are not spectacular. 

Chances of winning Singapore: 30%

The hard indoor surface of Singapore will put her loopy forehand to the test. Opponents will be looking to break down that wing and take charge of the points from then on. Caroline is not her best on fast surfaces, so I don't think she will win it all. With her recent small dip in form, I think Wozniacki's chances here are slim. She might win a match in the round robin stage, but she won't advance to the last 4.  

Prediction: Round Robin

Moscow, Luxembourg day 2: Best of the rest

Moscow schedule of play:

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

Luxembourg schedule of play:

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

Match focus:

Ana Konjuh vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Coming off a good week in Osaka, Ana Konjuh will be a tough opener for the patchy Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Russian has hit a rough patch lately, barely winning matches. Still, her season is salvaged by her surprise title run in Paris Indoors. In the fast carpet surface, Pavlyuchenkova has the experience, having won in Paris earlier in the year, but Konjuh has nothing to lose and her powerful game is effective here as well. Pavlyuchenkova will need to weather the storm, and try to make Ana make the errors.

Pick: Pavlyuchenkova in 3 sets

Caroline Garcia vs. Aleksandra Krunic

Caroline Garcia is the anti-thesis of consistency. Just when you thought that she's getting her groove back, she bombs out in the opening round of Linz. Needless to say, it is impossible to predict which Garcia will show up. However, against someone as scrappy and stingy as Krunic, I think Caroline will lose here. Aleksandra will make Garcia crazy with her endless retrieving, which will result in wild errors from the French girl. Looks like Krunic will score another upset here.

Pick: Krunic in 2 sets

Sabine Lisicki vs. Daniela Hantuchova

Given Hantuchova's recent lack of form, Sabine should be able to cruise in her first round match. The lightning fast surface does not give any consolation to Daniela, whose movement is laborious even on other surfaces. Let's see if Daniela can summon her game and show that she still has some years ahead of her. If she loses this in a lopsided manner, I believe the end is near for Daniela.

Pick: Lisicki in 2 sets


Sure in bets: Camila Giorgi, Elena Vesnina, Alize Cornet, Andrea Petkovic
Upset alert: Caroline Garcia, Kiki Bertens, Varvara Lepchenko, Annika Beck

Moscow, Luxembourg day 1: Massive withdrawals dampen season ending tournaments

Moscow schedule of play:

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

Luxembourg schedule of play:

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

Match focus:

Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Klara Koukalova

Svetlana Kuznetsova looks content just being a solid top 30 player, always pushing the top players but coming out short in the end. In an event marred by the top players' withdrawal, this will be a good chance for Kuznetsova to revive her career. The Russian enjoys home crowd support, and will be the firm favourite against the slumping Koukalova. If the Russian loses this, I'm afraid any hopes of a career revival will be dashed.

Pick: Kuznetsova in 2 sets

Tereza Smitkova vs. Roberta Vinci

Vinci may be slumping, but I certainly do not expect her to lose to unheralded Tereza Smitkova. The Czech youngster had a breakthrough tournament in Wimbledon, but faded in obscurity immediately after that. There is one factor that might work against Roberta though, as she is scheduled to play in the Year-End Championships in Singapore. If she advances to the finals, she will have limited time to travel back to Asia and readjust to the conditions. Not saying that the Italian should throw the match away, but it will be a matter of priorities.

Pick: Vinci in 2 sets

Silvia Soler Espinosa vs. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova

Silvia held a 5-0 lead against Serena in Beijing, but collapsed immediately after that when the world number 1 raised her game. The Spaniard's game is not flashy, but will make you earn your points. Barbora's season has been consistent after her Wimbledon breakthrough. She used to be a walking time-bomb, never knowing when she will self-destruct and wallow in self pity. Once she kept her emotions intact, she plays a good all-court game which is a joy to watch. I would give Barbora the advantage as she's a play maker, as opposed to Silvia's reactionary game. It will be close though, with a lot of scrambling and all court tennis.

Pick: Strycova in 3 sets

Sure win bets: Mona Barthel, Karin Knapp, Monica Niculescu
Upset alert: Jana Cepelova, Donna Vekic, Tsvetana Pironkova

Linz, Osaka, Tianjin finals: Riske claims her maiden crown

Linz finals:

Karolina Pliskova def. Camila Giorgi 6-7(4) 6-3 7-6(4)

Camila Giorgi certainly has to rein down her ultra aggressive game, and stengthen up her mental game because she just gives away too many free points. Pliskova served well and had some goo returns, but Camila's game is just too hit or miss to really win anything significant. Giorgi came all the way from 1-5 down and wasted a match point on Pliskova's serve, showing how up and down her game is. Hopefully she will find a middle ground for her game as when she's nervous and piling up the errors, she's already putting herself at a disadvantage. With this win, Pliskova bolsters her chance of making the mini-YEC in Sofia, and with some steady results in slams, I'm sure Karolina will be a staple hold in the top 20.

Osaka finals:

Samatha Stosur def. Zarina Diyas 7-6(7) 6-3

As expected, Stosur claims her 3rd title in Osaka, defending her title from last year. Samantha always does well in this tournament, and will be looking to qualify for the mini-YEC in Sofia as well. Diyas played well for her first final, but losing the first set in such a tight manner did her in. If Zarina somehow edged out the first set, I'm sure she will be more confident of her chances. Nevertheless, it's been a stellar year for the young Kazakh, going from outside the top 100 to firmly in the top 40. I believe she can be a steady top 30 player if she keeps up her form.

Tianjin finals:

Alison Riske def. Belinda Bencic 6-3 6-4

Belinda Bencic must be too nervous at the aspect of becoming the youngest winner since 2006. She was not her steady best, while Alison just had to be solid with her game. The American had an uneven season this year, but her last season form has been solid, culminating in her maiden title run. Alison's game is still a bit hit and miss for me, so it'll be interesting to see how she follows up after this triumph. As for Belinda, time is on her side, so 2015 will be an exciting year for her after her first full season.