Beijing is well underway and first round action will conclude on Monday.  In the pick of the matches so far on Sunday, Andrea Petkovic outlasted Monica Niculescu in a gripping contest, 2-6 7-6(8) 6-4 that lasted two hours and 47 minutes (although it felt more like ten hours).  Petkovic saved three match points, two of which were on the most exhausting points you could imagine.  It was an excellent fighting performance from Petkovic against a very tricky opponent.  Niculescu was madddd in the decider and didn’t give the nicest of handshakes at the end.

Normally, I don’t start writing previews until the second round, but it’s time for an emergency preview. After the qualifiers were placed, Belinda Bencic was paired up with Ana Ivanovic in one of the highlights from all the first round matches in Beijing.  Bencic is having a superb year; after beginning the year at number 212 in the rankings, Bencic is knocking on the door for a seeding at next year’s Australian Open.  Bencic came through two rounds of qualifying in Beijing, defeating Tian Ran (6-0 6-4) and Shelby Rogers (5-7 7-6(2) 6-1).  It is the seventh time this year that Bencic has come through qualifying to make the main draw of a tournament in 2014… that is an impressive stat.

Ivanovic was in sensational form last weekend to win Tokyo.  After defeating Victoria Azarenka, Lucie Safarova, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki ALL in straight sets, Ivanovic was forced to retire in her first match in Wuhan.  She threw in the towel at 5-7 5-6 down to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova due to injury.  Ivanovic will have had a week off and there are no indications that the injury will be an issue in Beijing.  This will be a first career match-up between the pair.  Bencic has struggled at times against some of the best players on tour; however she has demonstrated excellent bounce back ability and seemingly learnt a great deal from her losses this year.  Ivanovic for the win, but it is all a learning curve for Belinda.

Prediction: Ivanovic d. Bencic in 2 tight sets