Tokyo has attracted a solid line-up despite being downgraded this year to just a premier event.  Last year’s tournament was one of my personal favourites of 2013 with two superb semi-finals and a title run by Petra Kvitova.  Surprisingly, Petra is not here to defend her title, but Angelique Kerber, Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki are all present.  There are some super first round matches with main draw action kicking off on Monday.

Note: The top four seeds all have byes into the second round.

Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki are the top two seeds at the Toray Pan Pacific Open and both have favourable draws.  Kerber’s first match of the week will be against either Barbora Zahlavova Strycova or Elina Svitolina.  Both players have had some solid results this year, but it would be a match-up where Kerber *should* have the edge.  Kerber’s projected quarter-final opponent is Dominika Cibulkova.  Since slugging it out in an exhausting three set finale against Donna Vekic in the final of Kuala Lumpur, Cibulkova’s form has been dire.  From Australia to KL, Cibulkova’s W-L record was 24-9.  Since then, her W-L record has been 5-10, which has included four consecutive losses.  Cibulkova suffered a crushing defeat to the 15-year-old, Cici Bellis at the US Open in one of the attention-grabbing storylines of the tournament.  Cibulkova opens in Tokyo against Kirsten Flipkens; the pair are 2-2 in the H2H.  Based on Cibulkova’s form, Flipkens will be the favourite in that match-up.

Wozniacki bookends the draw and will play either Daniela Hantuchova or a qualifier in the second round.  The Dane had a tremendous summer on the hard courts, which culminated with a second appearance in a Grand Slam final at the US Open.  Three of her four losses came against the world number one, Serena Williams.  In the final, Wozniacki didn’t play her best, but it never overshadowed what was a stunning run, which included a really encouraging victory over Maria Sharapova.  The third set of that match, Wozniacki won, as opposed to Sharapova losing it.  There were some rumours that Wozniacki was going to pull out of Tokyo, but she remains in the draw and could go all the way if she’s mentally in the right place.

Of the top four seeds, Ana Ivanovic has been drawn into the toughest quarter.  It looks tough on paper, but if she overcomes her first match, she should be cooking with gas.  Ivanovic will play the winner of a first round match between Victoria Azarenka and Kimiko Date-Krumm.  Now ranked at world number 24, Azarenka could cause absolute carnage through the Asian swing as she will be unseeded.  She gritted her way into the quarter-finals at the US Open, but was still far from her best.  If she overcomes KDK, which is certainly not given with KDK’s funky yet effective game, she would have an edge over Ivanovic with one match under her belt.  Vika-Ana would certainly be the highlight of the first two rounds if it does happen.

The other two first round matches in this quarter are too close to call.  US Open quarter-finalist, Belinda Bencic will take on Svetlana Kuznetsova, meanwhile Lucie Safarova plays Madison Keys.  Bencic started the year at world number 212, but is now pushing on the door for a seeding at the next Grand Slam in Australia.  She’s got a solid game, but an even more impressive mental game, which has helped her rack up eight top 50 wins this year.  Kuznetsova has had some great results this year, but remains shaky mentally.  Keys v Safarova has three sets written all over it.  Lucie has become a much more solid player this year and has reached the last 16 of three of the four Grand Slams this year.  Keys hasn’t progressed as much as I expected, but her performances at Eastbourne demonstrated the raw talent that she has.  Consistency remains an issue and probably will do for the rest of her career because of her explosive game.  Keys won their last match in Sydney in 2013, 6-2 6-1.  I can’t call this one…

The final quarter features Jelena Jankovic and Sara Errani.  JJ’s first match of the week will be against Garbine Muguruza or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.  Muguruza defeated Pavs in their only previous match in Miami, 4-6 6-2 6-2.  Errani reached the quarter-finals of the US Open, which included one of her best ever wins over Venus Williams in a stirring third round match.  Errani opens against a qualifier, but could meet Hong Kong champion, Sabine Lisicki in the second round.  A fit and healthy Lisicki seems to be settling on tour and she defeated Errani back-to-back in Montreal and Cincy, the latter in a third set tiebreak.  Lisicki is a confidence player and right now, she has bundles of it.  In the first round, she takes on Casey Dellacqua.  If she’s not too fatigued from her run in Hong Kong, she could be difficult to stop…

1st Round Predictions: Zahlavova Strycova d. Svitolina in 2 tight sets, Flipkens d. Cibulkova in 3 sets, Azarenka d. Date-Krumm in 2 sets (1 tight, 1 easy),  Bencic d. Kuznetsova in 2 tight sets, Keys d. Safarova in 3 sets, Lisicki d. Dellacqua in 2 sets, Muguruza d. Pavlyuchenkova in 2 sets and Suarez Navarrro d. Nara in 3 sets

Final Prediction: Wozniacki d. Ivanovic