I love this stage of the tennis season because there is just so much going on.  We are just two weeks away from the second Grand Slam of the year in Paris and Rome is now on our doorstep.  Comparing Rome and Madrid, there is just no competition.  Rome is a much better tournament and is a more worthy indicator of form going into Roland Garros.  The draw isn’t as initially grabbing as Madrid’s with the top eight players receiving byes into the second round.  Let’s take a look at the draw…

FIRST QUARTER: S.Williams (1) v P.Kvitova (5)

Serena Williams

Serena Williams headlines the Rome draw although there are some question marks after she pulled out of her Madrid quarter-final with Petra Kvitova, who she has conveniently been paired up with again in Madrid.  Serena was sporting heavy taping on her thigh for her second and third round wins in Madrid.  The official Twitter account for Madrid tweeted she was out of Rome, but those reports were not true.  She has implied she will play this week with the bye giving her a little more time to get ready.  Personally, I have my doubts.  The most eye catching aspect of Serena’s draw is that she could meet Sloane Stephens in the third round.  Sloane put in a deeply improved performance in Madrid and could take control of this section if Serena doesn’t show up.

Kvitova had a solid week in Madrid, reaching the semi-finals and losing out in three sets to Simona Halep.  The conditions are not likely to favour Petra in Rome.  Her first match of the week will be against Zhang Shuai or Lauren Davis.  She could meet Dominika Cibulkova in the third round, a player she has losted too handily in their last two match-ups.

First round match to watch: Dominika Cibulkova v Camila Giorgi

On home soil for Giorgi, this could be an absolute cracker of a first round match.  Giorgi has an exciting game coupled with a steady nerve that has seen her beat Maria Sharapova, Andrea Petkovic (X2), Roberta Vinci and Carla Suarez Navarrro this year.  Cibulkova has had a breakthrough year, although she has lost her last two matches including a 6-4 6-0 defeat by Sam Stosur in Madrid.  That was a horrible match-up for Domi and although this one isn’t a whole lot better, I think Cibulkova will tough out this one to win in three tight sets.

1st Round Predictions: Oprandi d. Petkovic in 3 sets, Peng d. Lepchenko in 3 sets, Stephens d. Jovanovski in 3 sets, McHale d. Cirstea in 3 sets and Davis d. Zhang in 3 sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: S.Williams v Cibulkova

Second Quarter: S.Halep (4) v M.Sharapova (8)

Maria Sharapova

Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova could meet each other again in the quarter-finals of Rome.  Both have potentially troublesome draws.  Halep’s first match will be against an American, either Madison Keys or Alison Riske.  In the very first match of 2014, Keys blew past Halep in Sydney, winning comfortably, 6-1 6-4.  Halep has found her feet since that woeful opener, but it would be a match-up that gives Halep a few things to think about.  In the third round, Halep is projected to meet the Oeiras champion, Carla Suarez Navarro.  CSN and Halep are tied at 4-4 in their head-to-head.  Suarez Navarro could meet Venus Williams in the second round, who is making her first return to the tour since Charleston.  Halep’s record this year has shown she has struggled in performing well in back-to-back weeks.  I don’t think she will go any further than the quarter-finals.

Sharapova’s first match of the week will be against either Daniela Hantuchova or Monica Puig.  In the third round, she could meet Ana Ivanovic again.  The Serb meets Karin Knapp in the first round, which is one of the easiest draws.  Knapp has lost her last seven matches on the WTA tour and won just one set since February.  Ivanovic’s draw though takes a turn for the worse in the second round where she would meet Alize Cornet or Kirsten Flipkens.  Ivanovic lost to Cornet in an absolute shocker in Cincy last year where she blew match points and a 6-2 5-2 lead.  Cornet is a very handy player on clay so if those two meet, it could be a close match.

1st Round Predictions: Keys d. Riske in 2 tight sets, V.Williams d. Beck in 2 sets, Barthel d. Suarez Navarro in 3 sets, Ivanovic d. Knapp in 2 sets, Cornet d. Flipkens in 3 sets and Puig d. Hantuchova in 3 sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Sharapova v Halep

Third Quarter: J.Jankovic (8) v A.Radwanska (3)

Jelena Jankovic

Jelena Jankovic loves Rome and has made the final of this tournament on three occasions, winning the title back-to-back in 2007 and 2008.  In 2014, she has a stinker of a draw.  This doesn’t mean JJ won’t go far, but she will need to be tuned in from the get-go.  In the second round, she will play either Svetlana Kuznetsova or Maria Kirilenko.  Kuznetsova has been in good form the last few weeks; however she has suffered two crushing losses to Carla Suarez Navarro in the Oeiras final (*4-1 up in the decider) and to Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round of Madrid (3MP’s in the the 3rd set tiebreak).  JJ is projected to meet home favourite, Flavia Pennetta in the third round.  Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated Jankovic in a three set thriller in Madrid, is also lurking in this section of the draw.  It’s a tough draw, but I think Jelena will have her best result of the year.

Radwanska did remarkably well to make the semi-finals in Madrid and played some impressive tennis on the dirt, defeating Eugenie Bouchard, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Roberta Vinci and the in-form, Caroline Garcia.  In Rome, she could play Bouchard again in the third round.  After watching their match in Rome, Radwanska definitely has the edge on clay.  The draw has been reshuffled after Caroline Wozniacki pulled out so Bouchard has been bumped up to the number 17 seed and will play  Francesca Schiavone in the first round.

First round match to watch: Eugenie Bouchard v Francesca Schiavone

An interesting match-up for Bouchard, who hasn’t looked entirely at home on the clay.  Schiavone is an excellent clay courter and conditions suit her game.  However Schiavone has not been in good form and won just three matches all year.  I fancy Schiavone to earn a set, but Genie to march on to the second round with a three set win.

1st Round Predictions: Kuznetsova d. Kirilenko in 2 tight sets, Pavlyuchenkova d. Bencic in 3 sets, Pennetta d. Meusburger in 2 sets, Muguruza d. Burnett in 3 sets and Ormaechea d. Nara in 2 sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Jankovic v Radwanska

FOURTH QUARTER: A.Kerber (7) v Li Na (2)

Angelique Kerber

Angelique Kerber has declared herself fit to play Rome after suffering a back injury in her first round match in Madrid.  She posted on Facebook a few days ago… “Flying tomorrow to Roma! Hopefully my back will hold it…“.  Her first match will be against why-does-she-bother-playing-on-clay-it-is-all-about-the-grass, Tsvetana Pironkova or Petra Cetkovska.  In the third round, it is likely she will take on an Italian.  Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci are set to meet in the second round.  Vinci will first have to overcome Ekaterina Makarova in the first round.  The Russian player made a fine start to the year, but since winning a second career title in Pattaya City, has compiled a disappointing 3-4 W-L record on the WTA tour.  Sara fans… I think this could be a brilliant draw for her!

Li Na bookends the draw in Rome.  The Chinese world number two had some pretty glowing opportunities to make the semi-finals of Madrid but lost to Sharapova from a set and a break up.  Her draw in Rome looks respectable up to the third round where she could meet Sabine Lisicki or Sam Stosur, both players she has lost too before.  In fact, Li has never beaten Stosur in six previous matches and would be the underdog in a clay court match-up.

First round match to watch: Sabine Lisicki v Sam Stosur

A tough draw for both, but particularly Lisicki as the seed.  In Madrid, she showed the greatest promise of her year so far, pushing Halep to three sets in the third round.  Stosur won their first four matches in the head-to-head, but Lisicki has halved the deficit with victories in Stanford (2011) and Wimbledon (2013).  On the clay, Stosur is likely to have the edge and I would back her to win this match in a tight two setter.

1st Round Predictions: Cetkovska d. Pironkova in 2 sets, Vinci d. Makarova in 2 sets, Errani d. Scheepers in 2 sets, Svitolina d. Vesnina in 3 sets and Dellacqua d. Rybarikova in 3 sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Errani v Stosur

Semi-Final Predictions: Sharapova d. Cibulkova, Jankovic d. Errani

Final Prediction: Sharapova d. Jankovic

As I mentioned above, I like Jelena’s chances on these courts despite her early-ish exit in Madrid.  She’s avoided Ana Ivanovic in her half so that’s one positive.  In the top half, I think Serena will be struggling with the injury so I don’t see her going all the way.  I’ll take the in-form Maria, who has a huge wedge of confidence and a great record in Rome to boot.  My recent predicting form has been terrible.  I feel a little like Jerzy Janowicz right now…