I’m excited about Montreal.  I’m excited about the WTA tour in general.  The draw has thrown up some cracking first round matches and is reasonably balanced between the two halves.  Note that the top eight seeds all have byes into the second round.  There’s so much to discuss so let’s take a look at the draw.

Note: First round predictions for matches featuring qualifiers have now been added

FIRST QUARTER: S.Williams (1) v E.Bouchard (5)

Serena Williams sits pretty at the top of this pretty spectacular Montreal draw.  After struggling at the French Open and Wimbledon, Serena has got her year back on track with some solid wins in Stanford.  In the quarter-finals, she weathered the storm against an at-times, awesome Ana Ivanovic, to claim a much needed win, 2-6 6-3 7-5.  In her first match in Montreal, she could face Sam Stosur.  The Aussie is in somewhat of a flux right now; she’s changed coaches and has not been playing anywhere near her best.  In Stanford, she lost to the world number 406, Naomi Osaka.  Serena’s last 16 opponent is projected to be Wimbledon semi-finalist, Lucie Safarova.  The Czech player lost her first round match in DC to Kristina Mladenovic in three sets.  In Montreal, she opens against Sorana Cirstea.  This is a match with huge implications for Sorana since she is defending finalist points and has had a woeful year, therefore could face a HUGE drop in the rankings if she falls early.  Safarova leads the H2H with Cirstea 3-1 and with the pressure of all those points on the line, i’d take Lucie.

Eugenie Bouchard is the other seed in the first quarter.  This is the first time Bouchard will play at the Rogers Cup as a relevant big name.  I’m expecting huge things all round.  There’s so many things to get excited about with this draw, but the one thing i’ve zoned in on is a potential third round match between Bouchard and Caroline Wozniacki.  This fascinates me, particularly as the pair have never played before so i’m praying this happens.  Before this match-up becomes a reality, Wozniacki will have to get past Daniela Hantuchova in the first round.  Woz leads the H2H 6-1; Hantuchova blew the Dane off the court at Roland Garros in 2011, but has since, lost their last three matches.  Bouchard’s first match of the week will be against a qualifier or Ajla Tomljanovic.  Genie-mania should be fun this week.  She’s done such an incredible job at dealing with the media and expectation.  Genie’s been peaking at the big events and I think she’ll do it again.  One issue I have noted is that she has some taping on her knee.  She pulled out of DC and I hope an injury doesn’t thwart her week.

1st Round Predictions: Stosur d. Puig in 2 tight sets, Riske d. Rybarikova in 2 sets, Safarova d. Cirstea in 3 sets, Wozniacki d. Hantuchova in 2 sets (1 tight, 1 easy) and Rogers d. Tomljanovic in 3 sets

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

 SECOND QUARTER: M.Sharapova (4) v A.Kerber (6)

Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber are projected to meet in the second quarter, which would see a rematch of their stunning fourth round match at Wimbledon.  Sharapova’s first match since that loss will be against Garbine Muguruza or a qualifier.  The Spaniard reached the quarter-finals of Stanford last week, losing out to Kerber in a disappointing 6-2 6-1 loss.  Muguruza also took Sharapova to three sets in the quarter-finals of the French Open.  Muguruza has had a fabulous year, but there are stil some critical flaws in her game, notably the second serve.  If the pair meet, it will be a good opportunity for Muguruza because Sharapova will come in with some significant rust.  I’d still fancy Maria to come through where she is projected to meet Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round.  Since losing to Bouchard in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros, CSN has compiled a 3-4 W-L record on the tour.  She faces a tricky opener against Bojana Jovanovski.

Kerber’s section features a stand-out first round match involving Venus Williams and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.  Both players reached the quarter-finals of their respective tournaments last week in Stanford and Washington.  It’s a tricky one to call with both, especially Pavs, being prone to an off-day.  The pair are split at 2-2 in their H2H with both of Venus’s wins coming in Dubai, one of her most successful tournaments on tour.  I was researching their history in Montreal to only realise this is the first time Venus has ever played here! The winner of this first round match would likely play Flavia Pennetta.  It’s hard not to forget that Pennetta won Indian Wells earlier this year.  Since that tournament, Pennetta has a 7-8 W-L record and hasn’t made it past the last 16 in any of her tournaments.  This is one of the hardest mini-sections to pick apart.  I’m going for Pavs to reach the third round… someone slap me.

1st Round Predictions: Muguruza d. Dubois in 3 sets, Nara d. Wickmayer in 3 sets, Suarez Navarro d. Jovanovski in 2 sets and Pavlyuchenkova d. V.Williams in 2 tight sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Sharapova v Kerber

 THIRD QUARTER: V.Azarenka (8) v A.Radwanska (3)

Since returning to the WTA tour following three months on the sidelines for a foot injury, Victoria Azarenka has lost three out of her four matches.  There’s a lot more than meets the eye because Azarenka has competed well in all those encounters.  In Stanford, she got a horrible draw and went down 6-4 7-6(2) to Venus Williams, who she is now 0-4 in the H2H and 0-8 in sets.  In Montreal, her draw could have been worse.  In the second round, Azarenka will play either Alize Cornet or a qualifier.  Cornet has had some huge wins this year, but hasn’t won a match since defeating Serena Williams at Wimbledon.  Cornet v Azarenka could be EVERYTHING.  I feel like Azarenka just needs some help with the draws to really get going again.  I think Vika is ready to start marching on, but perhaps this again, may be one tournament too early.  Dominika Cibulkova is the other seed in this section.  Her season has rather crumbled since the transition from hard courts to clay in the Spring.  This is a good draw and Azarenka in her recent form, is beatable, assuming the pair actually meet.

Agnieszka Radwanska and Sara Errani are seeded to meet in the third round of the Rogers Cup.  Errani sits nestled in a mini-section of big hitters.  Her first match will be against Sabine Lisicki.  There’s no doubt that the world record serving, Lisicki has the weapons to dismantle Errani’s game, but whether she is able to put it all together with some consistency is another question.  The winner of that match will play the winner of my favourite first round match, which features Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys.  This one I JUST CANNOT DECIDE.  Kuznetsova reached the semi-finals in DC, meanwhile Madison lost in a poor first round performance against Kurumi Nara.  My head’s saying Kuznetsova, but my heart is saying Madison.  It’s often difficult to disengage the two.  Radwanska’s first match will be against Roberta Vinci or Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.  Aga had an awful match against Varvara Lepchenko in Stanford and it was after this match, I realised she’s actually slumping.

1st Round Predictions: Cornet d. Davis in 2 tight sets, Cibulkova d. Abanda in 2 sets, Watson d. Smitkova in 2 tight sets, Errani d. Lisicki in 3 sets, Kuznetsova d. Keys in 2 tight sets, Vinci d. Zahlavova Strycova in 3 sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Azarenka v Kuznetsova

FOURTH QUARTER: J.Jankovic (7) v P.Kvitova (2)

Petra Kvitova returns in Montreal after winning her second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.  One of the many storylines that is fascinating me right now is how on earth Petra is going to perform?  It is worth noting that when asked in one of her Q&A sessions, Petra said this was one of her favourite tournaments.  Furthermore, Kvitova won the last edition of this tournament in Montreal in 2012.  Her first match will be against Casey Dellacqua or Kirsten Flipkens.  Kvitova is set to meet the in-form, Andrea Petkovic in the third round.  In a rather curious H2H, Petkovic has won four of their last five matches, including the Canada-Cincy double in 2011.  Petko has some work to do though to get there because she opens against the always dangerous, Camila Giorgi, who has beaten her twice this year.  Ekaterina Makarova, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist and a DC semi-finalist, could be lurking in the second round for the winner of Petko-Giorgi.

Jelena Jankovic has had a whole host of holidays, but finally her fans can rejoice as she’s back in action on a tennis court.  Jelena hasn’t played a competitive match since the 24th of June when she lost in straight sets to Kaia Kanepi.  Jelena was lost on grass, but back on hard courts, she becomes a contender once again.  In her first match of the week, she will play Aleksandra Wozniak or Sloane Stephens.  Wozniak has the tools to threaten Sloane, but I worry if she has the nerve in front of her home crowd to pull off the win.  JJ could be set for an all-Serbian third round match with Ana Ivanovic.  OH GOODIE.  JJ-Ana matches are always entertaining spectacles even if the quality of tennis never quite lives up to exepctation.  Ivanovic pushed Serena deep in the Stanford quarter-finals, but also seemed to pick up an injury.  Her first two rounds, against a qualifier and then another qualifier or Zhang Shuai give her the perfect opportunity to test out the injury.  If JJ and Ana meet, it’s a bit of a no-brainer for me.

1st Round Predictions: Stephens d. Wozniak in 3 sets (saving MPs haha), Vandeweghe d. Zhang in 2 sets, Ivanovic d. Bacsinszky in 2 sets, Petkovic d. Giorgi in 2 tight sets, Makarova d. Oprandi in 2 sets and Dellacqua d. Flipkens in 3 sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Ivanovic v Kvitova

Moo’s Final Prediction: S.Williams d. Kvitova

I’m not expecting Petra to go on a tear and start winning everything, but I like her draw in Montreal.  I’ve been thinking about the bottom half for the last day: Vika’s not in form yet, Aga’s slumping a bit, JJ hasn’t played for years, Ana could be injured…. and Petra is Petra.  I think the big stumbling block could be the third round against Petkovic or Giorgi or Makarova.  After reaching the final in Stanford, i’m not quite sure about Serena.  I hope, hope, HOPE we get a Serena v Bouchard QF.  In front of a Canadian home crowd, I think that could be a fabulous occasion.  I never seem to call Serena correctly.  I’m going Serena (I had Sharapova yesterday but have since changed my mind…)

Women’s Tennis Blog have their photographer, Jimmie48 in Montreal so make sure to check out some of his fabulous photography HERE.  I’m hoping to have some exclusive photos for Moo’s Tennis Blog from Cincy next week so stay tuned 🙂