On Wednesday, all eight second round matches will be played in Auckland.  Mona Barthel and Sara Errani both went out on Monday and Svetlana Kuznetsova joined them as a seeded casualty on Tuesday.  Kuznetsova is often a slow starter after a long break, but I was still surprised she lost to Lucie Hradecka, who is all the way down at number 153 in the singles ranking.  Also of note, Venus Williams thrashed Jana Cepelova in a dominant opener that lasted just 52 minutes.  The match of the day on Wednesday comes from Auckland pitting the number one seed against a talented teen.

1. Caroline Wozniacki v Taylor Townsend (WTA Auckland, R2)

I’m excited about Taylor Townsend.  The 18-year-old kicked off her 2015 season in style with a first round win in Auckland against Yanina Wickmayer, 7-5 3-6 6-0.  This was only Taylor’s seventh main draw victory at WTA level.  I’d class Taylor and Belinda Bencic as the next, next generation of WTA stars and the pair showed what they have to offer in the 2013 final of the girls singles, which was a stunning match (full highlights HERE).  While Bencic made a big breakthrough on the tour in 2014, Taylor’s progression has been quieter and more stable.  This is because Townsend hasn’t made a huge number of ventures onto the main tour.  Her all-court game has more intricacies, but also bucket loads of potential with her desire to finish points off at the net.  Her best result in 2014 came at Roland Garros when she defeated Alize Cornet in a fascinating second round match on Suzanne Lenglen court.

Townsend has been rewarded with a second round match against the number one seed in Auckland and the world number eight, Caroline Wozniacki.  The Dane won her first match of 2015 on Tuesday against Julia Glushko, 6-3 6-2.  I saw snippets of the match; I didn’t think Wozniacki was all that positive in her play, but she did all that she needed to do to get the win.  Against Townsend, she’s likely to face a much more challenging opponent.  Townsend’s aggressive game is the kind that can unsettle Wozniacki.  I’m very intrigued to see how Townsend gets on as she hasn’t played many of these types of matches against top ten players.  I’d still fancy Wozniacki’s consistency to come through in straight sets, but Taylor is definitely one to watch out for this year…

Prediction: Wozniacki d. Townsend in 2 sets (1 tight, 1 easy)

WTA Auckland 2nd Round Predictions

Ana Konjuh d. Elena Vesnina in 2 sets

Venus Williams d. Kurumi Nara in 2 sets

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova d. Marina Erakovic in 3 tight sets

Sloane Stephens d. Lauren Davis in 2 sets

Kirsten Flipkens d. Coco Vandeweghe in 3 sets

Daniela Hantuchova d. Urszula Radwanska in 3 sets *This is a tough one to call*

Julia Goerges d. Lucie Hradecka in 3 sets