Both my predicted champions in Paris and Pattaya City have pulled out through illness and / or injury this week.  I really do know how to pick them! To be honest, none of the matches look particularly enthusing for tomorrow so here is a dedicated preview for my favourite match on the schedule between Angelique Kerber and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

1. Angelique Kerber v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(WTA Paris, QF)

A. Pavlyuchenkova

Angelique Kerber has made a pretty decent start to 2014 reaching the quarter-finals of Brisbane, the final of Sydney and the 4th round of the Australian Open.  In the matches I have watched Kerber this year, I have been impressed with her tennis, but she always seems to get upstaged or edged out in a tight match.  Returning to the scene of Paris where she won her first WTA title, this could be a strong week for the German world number 9.  In the second round, Kerber beat Klara Zakopalova, 6-2 7-5.  It was a very good match and Zakopalova dug in really well in the second set despite looking as miserable as sin.  Zakopalova always looks miserable in her matches, but I will say that I saw her smile on multiple occasions in Eastbourne last year!  Kerber hit 22 winners to 11 unforced errors, meanwhile Zakopalova still managed a postive differential between winners and unforced errors.

Kerber now plays Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarter-finals; the Russian world number 26 enjoyed a sixth straight victory over Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round.  In the first round, Pavlyuchenkova lost the opening set of her first round clash to Francesca Schiavone, 6-1, but rebounded strongly to win the decider, 6-1.  I have been a fan of Pavlyuchenkova’s game for many years and believe she is one of the cleanest ball strikers on the tour when she’s playing well.  Last year she played really well at the International events as she won Monterrey and Oeiras; however since reaching the quarter-finals of Roland Garros and the US Open in 2011, her form at the major tournaments has been horrendous.  There does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel though as she showed a marked improvement in her consistency in the last six months.  Pavlyuchenkova has made back-to-back 3rd round appearances at the Slams, which is nothing to get too excited about, but certainly a step in the right direction.

Pavlyuchenkova has beaten Kerber twice before in Brisbane (7-6 7-6) and Monterrey (4-6 6-2 6-4) last year although Kerber has levelled that up now with wins in Stuttgart in 2013 and Brisbane earlier this year.  Pavlyuchenkova retired hurt in their most recent match-up in the first week of the year.  She definitely has the shots to beat Kerber and generally speaking, is the more aggressive player.  However I think Kerber’s game is ticking along quite nicely and I think she is serving much better than last year.  A tight match, but if Kerber plays like she did against Zakopalova, she should win this one in straight sets.

Prediction: Kerber to beat Pavlyuchenkova in 2 tight sets

WTA Paris: Quarter-Final Predictions

Maria Sharapova to beat Kirsten Flipkens in 2 sets

Sara Errani to beat Elina Svitolina in 2 sets

Andrea Petkovic to beat Alize Cornet in 2 tight sets

WTA Pattaya City: Quarter-Final Predictions

Peng Shuai to beat Andrea Hlavackova in 2 sets

Ekaterina Makarova to beat Kimiko Date-Krumm in 2 tight sets

Sorana Cirstea to beat Karolina Pliskova in 3 sets

Elena Vesnina to beat Julia Goerges in 3 sets