There is plenty of tennis on Thursday so here’s a selection of thoughts and picks for all five draws. My predictions have been so-so this week, but both my champions in Moscow and Luxembourg are still alive. Last week was good, but I just came up short in predicting a champion…
WTA Moscow 2nd Round Matches
Alison Riske d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 3 sets: This feels like a match that Pavs should win. In the first round, she had one of her most comfortable wins of the entire year, beating Ana Konjuh in straight sets, losing her serve just once. Riske will be tired from her title run in Tianjin, but a come-from-behind win at Wimbledon and a soaring wave of confidence could keep the Riske run going.
Dominika Cibulkova d. Vitalia Diatchenko in 3 sets: I read somewhere on Twitter that Domi was seen limping around the venue. Not sure about this one.
Aleksandra Krunic d. Tsvetana Pironkova in 3 sets: Tough one to call, Krunic hadn’t won a match since the US Open, but defeated Caroline Garcia in straight sets. As Sofia looms, Pironkova’s form has picked up again.
Katerina Siniakova d. Kristina Mladenovic in 3 sets: 18-year-old Siniakova is a promising talent and has qualified for the main draws in both Linz and Moscow. This is another match that should be close, but i’d fancy Siniakova to pull off an upset.
WTA Luxembourg Quarter-Final Matches
Mona Barthel d. Kiki Bertens in 2 sets: This is a great chance for Mona to make the semi-finals and deeper. She’s my risky pick for the week! I hope she has enough left in the tank. Mona is 6-2 in the H2H and defeated Bertens last week in Linz indoors.
Annika Beck d. Patricia Mayr-Achleitner in 2 sets: Beck had lost 6 of her last 7 matches before Luxembourg. Now into the quarters by virtue of two excellent wins over Timea Bacsinszky and Roberta Vinci, this really should be her match for the taking.
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova d. Johanna Larsson in 3 sets: One of just two seeds left, BZS has had a solid week so far with two straight set wins. This will be her toughest match of the week, but I fancy she will get the win.
Varvara Lepchenko d. Denisa Allertova in 2 tight sets: Allertova won her first and second WTA main draw matches of her career in Luxembourg. Beating Lisicki was a big win for the world number 145. Lepchenko has been solid lately so if she isn’t knackered then I think she will make the semis.
ATP Moscow 2nd Round Matches
Milos Raonic d. Ricardas Berankis in 2 sets
Mikhail Youzhny d. Juan Monaco in 3 sets
Mikhail Kukushkin d. Fabio Fognini in 2 sets
Ernests Gulbis d. Daniel Gimeno-Traver in 2 sets
Tommy Robredo d. Filip Krajinovic in 3 sets
ATP Stockholm 2nd Round Matches
Pierre-Hugues Herbert d. Marius Copil in 3 sets
Jeremy Chardy d. Jack Sock in 3 sets
Adrian Mannarino d. Alexandr Dolgopolov in 2 tight sets
Leonardo Mayer d. Matthias Bachinger in 2 sets
ATP Vienna 2nd Round Matches
Andy Murray d. Vasek Pospisil in 3 sets: A very tough opener for Murray. Pospisil hasn’t done a great deal since reaching the final in DC, but remains a dangerous player if he catches some form.
David Ferrer d. Tobias Kamke in 3 sets
Lukas Rosol d. Viktor Troicki in 3 sets
Jan-Lennard Struff d. Sergiy Stakhovsky in 2 tight sets
Benjamin Becker d. Robin Haase in 2 sets
Feliciano Lopez d. Thomaz Bellucci in 3 sets
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Sad and disastrous 😦 Poor Flavia and Sabine 😦
My hopeful winners to progress to the next round 🙂
MOS : 2R- Diatchenko,Pavchenkova,Siniakova,Pironkova; QF-Kuznetsova (title hopeful) Poor Flavia ;(
LUX : Beck,Lepchenko,BZS,Barthel (title hopeful). My final pick would be Beck vs Barthel. Why oh why did Sabine lose? 😦
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I watched the Lisicki match and this Denisa Allertova was rather special, even if Sabine wasn’t playing particularly well. She has a strong, well placed serve and powerful but precise groundstrokes. She looked completely comfortable at the net but wasn’t afraid of making the extra ball and going toe to toe in a ralley. She *could* upset Lepchenko, who tends to struggle against the bigger hitters.
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This might sound a bit opportunistic, but I think that Cibulkova will try as hard as she can to win this, then withdraw for Singapore as she will have confirmed her alternate spot with this win. Not only that, but she’ll be getting quite a lot do money by just turning up!
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Wow!!! Kat Siniakova defeats Kiki Mladenovic in under an hour 6-1 6-1. Very impressive 🙂
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Ahaha!! Yes!! And Pavs ousts Riske 6-2 6-2 in almost an hour sharp 🙂
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And Allertova wins against Lepchenko! Two top 40 players in two days- quite an achievement for someone ranked 147 in the world playing in the main draw of a tournament for the first time.
I doubt she has much left in the tank for Beck, but she could potentially be a HUGE star next year. She needs to get a few big wins under her belt because she seems to choke when ahead and her forehand and serve deteriorate under pressure.
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Superb week for Allertova, who had never won a main draw WTA match before this week… ANOTHER talented Czech player!
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yup you are right, not surprised Sabine lost to Denisa. she must be playing exceptionally well. so I predict it will be Barthel vs Beck for the final and in Moscow QF predictions are Pavs,Siniakova,Kuzzy,Pironkova.
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