My predictions had shaped up quite nicely this week as my two finalists were both still in contention going into the final.  Both Li Na and Simona Halep had beaten their semi-final opponents before this year, but of course it was Agnieszka Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta who prevailed!  It’s a surprising final, but one that holds plenty of intrigue and I am looking forward too.  Here are my thoughts…

Flavia Pennetta

Agnieszka Radwanska was first to book her place in the final with a classy 6-3 6-4 victory over Simona Halep.  By all accounts it was an entertaining encounter and it looks likely to be a regular match-up on the tour which personally, I think is great.  I couldn’t stay up for last night’s match and I am eager to actually watch one of their matches.  I like variety and it’s engaging to watch two players not try and blast each other of the court.  The second semi-final was a surprise as the number 20 seed, Flavia Pennetta upset the top seed, Li Na, 7-6(5) 6-3.  Li and Pennetta both commented that they felt this was a high quality match, which seems to contradict what many fans and journalists wrote about this match on Twitter.

Pennetta will crack the top 15 again by virtue of this incredible result, which will see her compete in the biggest final of her career.  Her career looked threatened by a serious wrist injury a few years back, but she is now enjoying arguably her best ever results on tour.   Going in her favour for this finale is that she defeated Radwanska in a headturning result a few weeks ago in Dubai, 6-4 6-1.  Before that match-up, Radwanska had won their last three matches in straight sets.  Radwanska and Pennetta had both lost their most recent matches against Halep and Li respectively in the semi-finals.  I am predicting a hat-trick of revenge wins and Premier Mandatory titles for Aga come Sunday evening.

Prediction: Radwanska d. Pennetta in 2 tight sets