The grass court season kicks into full gear next week with the women in Birmingham. This is the best ever line-up for the Aegon Classic with eight of the world’s top 20 in attendance. However, I expected the line-up to be even better and i’m surprised more of the top ten aren’t here. After a rainy start to Birmingham with much of Saturday and Sunday wiped out by the rain, the weather forecast doesn’t actually look too bad for the week ahead. It is also looking set fair for Eastbourne where i’ll be heading next Saturday! I’ll be at the Aegon International for four days and i’ll be posting here on the blog, but also on my Twitter and Facebook pages so please give me a follow! Before then, let’s take a look at the 2015 Birmingham draw where the top eight seeds have byes into the second round…

Simona Halep is back in action for the first time since her second round loss to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the French Open. It was a surprising loss that concluded a disappointing clay court season considering the expectations. Halep’s performances at the Slams this year (l. to Makarova at Australian Open) have both ended with tough losses that have defined her year, despite so much good in between. Halep will want to rebound and rebuild confidence in Birmingham. Grass isn’t Simona’s best surface although she did reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon last year. Halep’s first match of the week will be against Ajla Tomljanovic or the Brit wildcard, Naomi Broady. Her quarter isn’t a walk in the park; if Halep reaches the third round, she is projected to meet Caroline Garcia. Coco Vandeweghe, who reached the quarter-finals of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, is a handy player on grass and could be in the mix too.

The other top eight seed in Halep’s quarter is Eugenie Bouchard. Since Indian Wells, Bouchard has lost seven of her last eight matches. In ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Bouchard was unable to convert on a 4-0 third set lead against Yaroslava Shvedova, eventually going down, 6-4 in the third set after losing the last 11 points. Bouchard actually played some decent tennis at the start of that third set but confidence seems low at the moment. A win would be huge right now, but she’s got a sticky draw in Birmingham. Her first match of the week will be against Kristina Mladenovic or Alison Riske. Mladenovic defeated Bouchard in the first round of the French Open, while Riske is an excellent grass court player and reached the semi-finals of Nottingham. Mladenovic-Riske is destroying my brain… I just can’t decide with this match-up! This section also features Barbora Strycova, who reached the final of Birmingham last year and backed it up with a quarter-final showing at Wimbledon. Watch out for Babs…

Two players who have enjoyed superb years, Carla Suarez Navarro and Karolina Pliskova are the top two seeds in the second quarter. Both players are currently in position to qualify for the WTA Championships in Singapore although they fell before the fourth round at the French Open. Suarez Navarro’s game isn’t suited to the grass although she did make the second week of Wimbledon in 2013 so shouldn’t be completely ruled out altogether. Suarez Navarro’s section of the draw features Roberta Vinci, Heather Watson, Karin Knapp and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Knapp and Kuznetsova meet in the first round. Kuznetsova hasn’t won a match on grass since 2011 (injury affected her 2012 and 2013 grass court seasons). Furthermore, Kuznetsova is a slow starter after a break from playing so i’d be surprised if she goes deep in Birmingham. If Watson can overcome an elbow injury that forced her to pull out of Notingham then this is a decent draw for her to get involved.

This draw features some potentially exciting second and third round matches, but we have to be patient to see if they become a reality! Pliskova could meet Victoria Azarenka in the third round. This would be a rematch of their first round match in Brisbane, which still remains as one of my favourite matches of 2015 so far. Pliskova will open against either Jarmilla Gajdosova or Johanna Konta, while Azarenka takes on Varvara Lepchenko. Vika is the number 12 seed and has a favourable opener (Lepchenko is 3-9 for the year since the Australian Open). Azarenka could play Zarina Diyas in the second round, who squandered six match points in her quarter-final against Sachia Vickery in Nottingham.

The third quarter is headed up by Germany’s top two, Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic. In my opinion, Kerber is a dark horse and one to watch out for during this grass court season. Her first match of the week will be against Tsvetana Pironkova or Brit wildcard, Katie Swan. Kerber’s section also features Jelena Jankovic, who reached the semi-finals of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. JJ looked to have tweaked her foot in the Netherlands so i’m not convinced she will have a great run in Birmingham. Petkovic’s first match of the week will be against Katerina Siniakova or Kurumi Nara. Petko’s clay court season was hampered by injuries which was such a shame because she looked to be playing her best tennis of the year so far. Health and fitness just let her down for Paris where she did well to reach the third round. Petkovic is projected to meet Alize Cornet in the third round. I like Cornet’s chances in this draw as Petkovic is not a grass courter. Cornet faces a tough opener against Christina McHale which is a 50-50 match. If Cornet comes through that match, i’d fancy her to make the quarters.

Last year’s champion, Ana Ivanovic returns to Birmingham as the number two seed. Her eighth of the draw currently looks rather bare with three qualifier positions. The first seed that Ivanovic could meet is Irina-Camelia Begu. Begu plays Daniela Hantuchova in the first round. Hantuchova has been on a dire run of form, losing her last SEVEN matches. However, Hantuchova performs well on the grass and particularly at this tournament which she won at 2013. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gritted out a few wins.

The other top eight seed is Sabine Lisicki. I’m chuffed that all the Sabine fans going to Birmingham should get to see her this year. Sabine loves the grass and is a former champion of Birmingham back in 2011. Wimbledon is her spiritual home but grass in general is easily, her best surface. Her first match of the week will be against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni or Belinda Bencic. Bencic is coming from a final appearance in ‘s-Hertogenbosch so i’m not sure if she will have much impact in Brum. I’d love to see a third rounder between Lisicki and Garbine Muguruza because i’d have no idea who would come through that! Before that, Muguruza has to contend with another former Birmingham champion in the first round in Magdalena Rybarikova.

1st Round Predictions: Broady d. Tomljanovic in 3 tight sets, Strycova d. Niculescu in 2 sets, Mladenovic d. Riske in 3 sets (regretting it already haha), Knapp d. Kuznetsova in 3 sets, Azarenka d. Lepchenko in 2 sets, Konta d. Gajdosova in 3 sets, Nara d. Siniakova in 2 sets, Cornet d. McHale in 3 tight sets, Jankovic d. Smitkova in 2 sets, Dellacqua d. Davis in 3 sets, Pironkova d. Swan in 2 sets, Bencic d. Lucic-Baroni in 2 tight sets, Muguruza d. Rybarikova in 3 sets and Hantuchova d. Begu in 2 sets

Final Prediction: Azarenka d. Kerber