I’ve watched two matches from Charleston this week and I have thoroughly enjoyed both of them. The 17-year-old, Belinda Bencic defeated Maria Kirilenko, 6-1 7-5 yesterday in the Russian player’s first match of 2014.  Bencic played some smart tennis in the first set and needed seven match points to convert the win in straight sets.  She went from 5-2 up to 5-5 15-40 down.  Bencic showed her inexperience as she made some rash errors and started to lose her way. However she regrouped remarkably well to come back and break Kirilenko, who didn’t play a bad match at all.  Bencic is still very young, but I think she has all the tools to be a fantastic player.

On Tuesday, Venus Williams also needed multiple match points to get past Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-3 0-6 7-5.  It looked to be one of those off days for Venus, but as ever, her determination and fight was there right till the last point as she won through to the second round.  Zahlavova Strycova has some delightful shots in her locker, but never seems able to string it all together. She played some great tennis throughout the match and it was just two very sloppy service games in the third set that cost her a big win.  Charleston is a really fantastic tournament and you can tell the players love it too. The Charleston Twitter account (@FamilyCircleCup) is one of the best tournament accounts and they have been quick to update draws and OOPs, and post news and videos.  Second round action will conclude on Wednesday.

Note – In the poll of who do you think will win Charleston, 42% of Moo’s Tennis Blog readers went for Serena Williams.  Serena has now been knocked out of the tournament by Jana Cepelova. Some of Lisicki’s adoring fans got her into second place with 27%.  I do love their optimism!

1. Sloane Stephens v Elina Svitolina (WTA Charleston, R2)

Sloane Stephens

The conundrum that is Sloane Stephens will be put under the microscope again on Wednesday as she plays her first match of the week at the Family Circle Cup against Elina Svitolina.  This will be a tough match as Svitolina is enjoying a solid year.  After surpassing Madison Keys as the highest ranked teenager on tour, Svitolina is starting to attract more attention from the tennis media.  She needed three sets to get past qualifier, Jarmila Gajdosova, 6-1 5-7 7-6(5) in the first round.  In fact, Svitolina’s last six matches on the tour have gone the distance and she has won four of them.

Sloane enjoyed some good wins in Indian Wells and Miami, but her last showing on the tennis court was not one of her proudest moments as she lost 6-1 6-0 to Caroline Wozniacki. In their only encounter on the WTA tour, Sloane beat Svitolina at the Australian Open earlier this year, 7-5 6-4.  There is no doubt that Svitolina can win this match, but if Sloane brings a reasonably high and consistent level, and shows a positive attitude then she should have the upper hand.

Prediction: Stephens d. Svitolina in 3 sets

WTA Charleston 2nd Round Prediction

Elena Vesnina d. Petra Cetkovska in 3 sets

Daniela Hantuchova d. Grace Min in 2 tight sets

Sara Errani d. Kiki Bertens in 2 sets

Madison Keys d. Peng Shuai in 3 sets

Belinda Bencic d. Marina Erakovic in 3 sets

Andrea Petkovic d. Lourdes Dominguez Lino in 3 sets

Sabine Lisicki d. Vania King in 3 sets

Venus Williams d. Chanelle Scheepers in 2 tight sets

Ajla Tomljanovic d. Zhang Shuai in 3 sets

Jelena Jankovic d. Lauren Davis in 2 tight sets