The ATP results in Rome have been pretty baffling.  Well, they have been for me as I sit pretty with 9 correct picks out of a total 24 for the first round.  My recent form has made me consider retirement.  The WTA draw has been marginally better although I missed out on a few surprises today.  Camila Giorgi continued her upset train with a 6-4 7-6(2) over Dominika Cibulkova, who has yet to win on clay yet this year.  To be honest, Domi has had a horrid pair of draws.  Credit also to Belinda Bencic who continues to prove she is the real deal.  She beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets to set up a second rounder with Flavia Pennetta.  There are some FANTASTIC matches on Wednesday…

WTA Rome, who will win Rome results: I think this was the first notable tournament of the year where Serena was not leading the poll.  42% of Moo’s Tennis Blog readers went for Sharapova, 21% for Serena and 11% for Halep.

1. Ana Ivanovic v Alize Cornet (WTA Rome, R2)

Alize Cornet

Two of 2014’s in-form players, Ana Ivanovic and Alize Cornet will meet in a fascinating second round encounter at the Internazionali BNL D’Italia on Wednesday.  One thing the pair have in common is that they have both beaten Serena Williams this year. They are also both excellent clay courters and have enjoyed their greatest career successes on this surface; Ivanovic won her only Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2008 and in the same year, Cornet reached the final of Rome (yes it happened).  In 2014, Ivanovic has reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, won two International titles and posted an impressive 9-4 W-L record in three set matches.  Cornet has been equally impressive with a title in Katowice, a final appearance in Dubai and an 11-4 W-L record in three set matches.

Ivanovic and Cornet last met in Cincinnati in a tremendously awful match.  Ivanovic led 6-2 5-2, had numerous match points, but ended up losing , 2-6 7-6(8) 6-4.  Ivanovic has progressed mentally this year, but that match will surely play on her mind.  Equally, Cornet has improved since that match and her talent on clay is a little underrated.  Her, at times, histrionic behaviour on court can mask the fact she has played some remarkably good tennis this year and is one of the best competitors on tour.  The No Challenges Remaining podcast had an interview with Cornet last week, which was really interesting and well worth a listen.  It’s a little foolish, perhaps, but I have a weird feeling that Cornet will win this.  I know you’re judging me 😛

Prediction: Cornet d. Ivanovic in 3 sets

2. Jelena Jankovic v Svetlana Kuznetsova (WTA Rome, R2)

Like Ana, Jelena Jankovic has an equally tricky second round match in Rome.  JJ will play Svetlana Kuznetsova, who defeated fellow compatriot Maria Kirilenko, 7-5 6-0 on Monday.  Kuznetsova has played 11 matches on clay in the last month.  She’s got plenty of matches under her belt and looks to be both fit and healthy going into her favourite Grand Slam.  Jankovic hasn’t done as well as expected; she made the semi-finals of Stuttgart, but suffered an early exit in Madrid.  This promises to be a very close match.  The pair are tied at 6-6 in their head-to-head.  Kuznetsova won their last match at Indian Wells in 2013, which was characteristically odd, 0-6 6-2 7-5.  Jankovic won their last match on clay in Fed Cup action in 2012.  It’s a 50-50 match-up.  The one thing I keep coming back too though is that Kuznetsova has suffered a few painful losses in the last few weeks and if this gets tight, I would have more confidence in Jankovic pulling through.

Prediction: Jankovic d. Kuznetsova in 3 sets

3. Andy Murray v Marcel Granollers (ATP Rome, R2)

One year ago Andy Murray was forced to retire hurt in his second round match in Rome to Marcel Granollers.  It was only the second time in his career that he had been forced to retire from a match.  In a strange twist of fate, Murray will face none other than Granollers on Wednesday.  The Spaniard, whose form has been incredibly erratic this year, beat fellow Spaniard, Feliciano Lopez in the first round, 7-5 6-1.  Murray is coming off the back of Madrid where he suffered a very disappointing third round loss to Santiago Giraldo.  Many pundits have tipped Murray for an early exit.  I think he will improve after Madrid, which was his first tournament since Miami.  If Murray plays reasonably, he really should beat Granollers.  It’s likely to be a bit of a trial, but I am going for Andy.

Prediction: Murray d. Granollers in 3 sets

WTA Rome 2nd Round Predictions

Serena Williams d. Andrea Petkovic in 2 tight sets *god knows what will happen in this one, I could see Petko win via retirement*

Sloane Stephens d. Varvara Lepchenko in 3 sets

Camila Giorgi d. Christina McHale in 3 sets

Simona Halep d. Madison Keys in 3 sets

Carla Suarez Navarro d. Venus Williams in 2 tight sets

Maria Sharapova d. Monica Puig in 2 tight sets

Flavia Pennetta d. Belinda Bencic in 3 sets

Francesca Schiavone d. Garbine Muguruza in 3 sets

Agnieszka Radwanska d. Paula Ormaechea in 2 sets

Sara Errani d. Ekaterina Makarova in 2 sets

Sam Stosur d. Elena Vesnina in 2 tight sets

ATP Rome 2nd Round Predictions

Rafael Nadal d. Gilles Simon in 2 sets

Mikhail Youzhny d. Andrey Golubev in 3 sets

Marin Cilic d. Jurgen Melzer in 2 tight sets

Tommy Haas d. Igor Sijsling in 2 tight sets

Grigor Dimitrov d. Ivo Karlovic in 2 tight sets

Tomas Berdych d. Dmitry Tursunov in 2 sets

Lukas Rosol d. Ivan Dodig in 2 sets

Roger Federer d. Jeremy Chardy in 2 sets

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Kevin Anderson in 3 sets

Ernests Gulbis d. Stephane Robert in 2 sets