The first batch of second round matches took place in Brisbane on Tuesday with Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber both winning through in straight sets.  Sharapova needed just 62 minutes to get past the qualifier, Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-0 6-1.  Ajla Tomljanovic and Madison Keys were both unable to back up their upset wins in the first round as they lost in straight sets to Elina Svitolina and Varvara Lepchenko respectively.  Svitolina has made a very convincing start to the year and her quarter-final match with Kerber (preview coming tomorrow) should be an entertaining and competitive match.

Away from Brisbane, Petra Kvitova won her second round match against Bojana Jovanovski in straight sets, 6-1 6-2.  Kvitova’s biggest struggles on tour seem to come when trying to win matches she is expected to win, so her start to the year has been encouraging.  The biggest surprise came at the Hopman Cup where Eugenie Bouchard defeated Serena Williams, 6-2 6-1.  I know it’s only an exhibition, but this is still a strange result.  I haven’t had the chance to watch the match so it’s not fair for me to make any judgements on that match yet.  Lucie won again though… 🙂

1. Ana Ivanovic v Jarmila Gajdosova (WTA Brisbane, R2)

Ana Ivanovic‘s first match of 2015 won’t be an easy one up against the big hitting and rising-in-confidence, Jarmila Gajdosova.  The Aussie has been through a couple of tough years where she lost her form and confidence, and was also subject to horrible abuse on Twitter.  Gajdosova was also diagnosed with mononucleosis in 2013.  Thankfully, the last couple of months have been much kinder to Jarka.  She’s fit and healthy, and has been rising up the rankings since June last year when she won the ITF event in Nottingham on grass.  Furthermore, she has recently got engaged and is now back on Twitter (@ tennis__jarkag).  If you’re a fan of Jarka, @ jarkafans is one of the best fan accounts on Twitter to follow.

In the first round, Gajdosova began her 2015 season with a straightforward 6-4 6-1 victory over Zhang Shuai.  Ivanovic leads the head-to-head 2-0 against Gajdosova with both wins coming all the way back in 2004 (!).  Gajdosova can blow anyone of the court with her groundstrokes, but she’s never really been able to sustain this kind of form against the best players on tour.  Gajdosova seems in a much better place mentally and is truly a confidence player.  If Ivanovic comes in nervous and scratchy, this could be a really sticky match for the Serb.  I fancy a really close opening set before Ivanovic finds her rhythm and wins in two.

Prediction: Ivanovic d. Gajdosova in 2 sets (1 tight, 1 easy)

2. Alla Kudryavtseva v Karolina Pliskova (WTA Brisbane, R2)

In the longest WTA match of 2015 so far, Karolina Pliskova came from a set and a break down to defeat Victoria Azarenka, 4-6 7-6(7) 6-4 in three hours and 13 minutes. This match had both the quantity and quality with some terrific points played between the pair.  Despite Azarenka playing her first match in over three months, this was one of Pliskova’s biggest wins of her career. After quickly going down a double break, Pliskova never panicked and used her cool and calm composure on court to her strength.  After winning a tight second set tiebreak, Pliskova gained in confidence during the third set and produced some superb shotmaking in the last couple of games of the match.  For Pliskova, all her shots were working, but it was her backhand down-the-line that really shone in this match.

Pliskova will now attempt to back up the win over Vika when she plays Alla Kudryavtseva on Wednesday.  Kudryavtseva got a lucky loser place into the draw after Garbine Muguruza withdrew due to an ankle injury.  All too often, lucky losers seem to do pretty well in main draws! After losing in the final round of qualifying to Lesia Tsurenko, Kudryavtseva came back to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the first round in straight sets.  Pliskova leads the head-to-head with Kudryavtseva 2-0 with both victories coming last year and in three tight sets.  It’s very early days, but this year has started promisingly for Pliskova.  In a very open section of a Premier draw, this is a big opportunity for the rising Czech player to score some big ranking points.

Prediction: Ka.Pliskova d. Kudryavtseva in 2 tight sets

WTA Brisbane 2nd Round Predictions

Carla Suarez Navarro d. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in 3 sets

Kaia Kanepi d. Madison Brengle in 2 sets

WTA Shenzhen 2nd Round Predictions

Simona Halep d. Natalia Vikhlyantseva in 2 sets

Alexandra Krunic d. Anna Schmiedlova in 2 tight sets

Timea Bacsinszky d. Karin Knapp in 2 sets

Vera Zvonareva d. Cagla Buyukakcay in 3 sets

Katerina Siniakova d. Tereza Smitkova in 3 sets

Photos in this post by Jimmie48 Tennis Photography and Moo’s Tennis Blog