The WTA main draw kicked off in Rome today with a few surprising results. Top of the list was Francesca Schiavone, who delivered a dazzling performance to defeat Eugenie Bouchard, 6-4 6-2. The clay court season has been a little rough for Genie, but she is down to play Nurnberg next week so has a chance to get some wins before Roland Garros. Varvara Lepchenko also lost just one game in a demolition of Peng Shuai, 6-1 6-0. The biggest match of the day saw Sam Stosur beat Sabine Lisicki, 6-3 6-3. Lisicki nearly recovered a double break deficit in the second set, but Sam completed a solid first round win. A handful of second round matches are on tomorrow, but no earth shattering matches. Here are some predictions…
ATP Rome 2nd Round Predictions
Novak Djokovic d. Radek Stepanek in 2 sets: Interesting to see how the wrist behaves, but should be straight sets nonetheless.
Stanislas Wawrinka d. Pere Riba in 2 sets: Two easy sets.
Milos Raonic d. Simone Bolelli in 2 tight sets: One tight set, but Raonic should cruise.
David Ferrer d. Mikhail Kukushkin in 2 tight sets: Ferrer has struggled with the transition between tournaments this year. I think this will be tougher than it should be.
Tommy Robredo d. Philipp Kohlschreiber in 3 sets: Kohlschreiber has not been in good form this week. Robredo the favourite.
WTA Rome 2nd Round Predictions
Li Na d. Casey Dellacqua in 2 sets: Two straightforward sets for Li.
Petra Kvitova d. Zhang Shuai in 3 sets: Zhang is a powerful hitter. Kvitova is obviously known for her walkabouts so I expect her to go on the long route.
Angelique Kerber d. Petra Cetkovska in 2 very tight sets: Tough opener for Angie. Petra to race into a lead, but Kerber to pull through in straights.
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Good win for Sloane today over Jovanovski! Recovered from a set down and when I last checked the scoreboard it was 1-1 in the 2nd set and Jovanovski had a break point & 2nd serve and I wasn’t very hopeful anymore given some of Sloane’s losses especially this year. Also, she hit 7 aces. That’s a lot more than she usually serves.
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I have the feeling Angie lost her power and motivation on the way back from Australia. As a fan, the end of the second set was awful to watch. After her coach adressed a motivational speech to her she did well until *4-3 but then it was just a pain to watch. Another tough 3 set defeat.
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I was surprised to see this result because I checked the scoreboard when I left work and Kerber was *4-3 30-0 in the decider! Since Fed Cup, the year has gone a little sour. Did her back look to be an issue, Murphy?
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She was even up 40:0 … 😦 First, I thought it might be her back once again because her serve completely went away at times but when speaking to her coach she mentioned that it is too windy, too loud and noisy and she cannot even motivate herself (it was between the second and the third set). Her coach answered that they’ve worked so much together in the last weeks and he wants to see the fighter in her. He said that even if the circumstances are annoying her she should give her very best and he wants to see her fighting for every point. No one of them mentioned her back, so I think her serve was just off (also because of wind) and her motivation was non-existent.
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Oh god! Sounds like a very interesting exchange with her coach. She does often have a very negative attitude on court. Glad to hear that the back wasn’t an issue though. Kerber is playing in Nurnberg next week so an opportunity to get some more matches before RG.
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only very negative? 🙂 sometimes it’s even cynical! well..but I hope she plays some more matches before the French Open. As for the rest of the tournament, I would love to see Petko (depends on Serena I guess) and Halep (unfortunately, Maria is in her way) doing well.
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