Second round action at the Bank of the West Classic will conclude on Thursday with the top two seeds, Caroline Wozniacki and Agnieszka Radwanska, in action. In other news, it was announced today that Stanford is the first tournament where players and coaches are able to access real-time performance data during live match play. In a joint venture, the WTA and SAP SE have developed SAP® Tennis Analytics software for players and coaches. This means that they will be able to analyse performance during matches using WTA-authorised tablets and coaches will be able to use them during coaching timeouts on court… not sure how I feel about this! The software will also be available in Toronto, Wuhan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Zhuhai. Back to the tennis and here’s a pair of previews for Thursday…
1. Kimiko Date-Krumm v Karolina Pliskova (Stanford, R2)
Let’s all just take a moment to acknowledge how incredibly awesome Kimiko Date-Krumm is. Still playing tennis at 44 years old, Date-Krumm enjoyed her first WTA main draw win of 2015 on Tuesday as she came back from 6-1 4-1 down to defeat Sabine Lisicki, 1-6 7-6(4) 6-2. It was a poor result for Lisicki who is really struggling at the moment. Back in March it looked like things were turning around for with a series of encouraging displays at Indian Wells and Miami. However, she’s never really recovered from a 6-0 6-0 loss to Zarina Diyas at home in Stuttgart.
Date-Krumm plays Karolina Pliskova in the second round who will be playing her first match since a second round loss at Wimbledon. Pliskova’s had a great year and is set to break into the world’s top ten next week but her performances at the Slams have been disappointing. She is yet to reach the second week of Slam in her career. Pliskova and Date-Krumm’s last match was also in Stanford back in the first round where Pliskova won, 6-1 6-3. I’d expect a similar result as Pliskova is much more stable than Lisicki. Still, KDK = legend.
Prediction: Pliskova d. Date-Krumm in 2 sets
2. Caroline Wozniacki v Varvara Lepchenko (Stanford, R2)
Caroline Wozniacki will play her first match in Stanford on Thursday and if she is to win the title, the Dane will need to win four matches in four days. Wozniacki has been pictured with strapping on her leg but there are no indications that this will be a problem. This is Wozniacki’s first ever appearance in Stanford and she has a bucket load of points to defend over the next month so a decent result at the Bank of the West Classic should take some heat off her heading into the Canada-Cincy double.
Wozniacki’s first match will be against Varvara Lepchenko who snapped a six match losing streak to edge Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 3-6 6-2 7-6(4). Lucic-Baroni served for the match in the third set at *5-4 and was two points from the match before Lepchenko dug in to seal a huge win. It was a fun end to the match with the classic mix of big winners and… big unforced errors. You could see the relief on Varvara’s face at the end. Wozniacki leads the head-to-head with Lepchenko, 4-0 and won their last match in Miami, 6-0 6-1. This is the perfect time for Lepchenko to play Wozniacki with the Dane having not played since Wimbledon. I’d still take Wozniacki in straight sets though with perhaps a struggle in one of the sets.
Prediction: Wozniacki d. Lepchenko in 2 sets
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Super excited to see Pliskova back in action here. I rather wanted to see her play Lisicki if I’m honest.
I don’t like the stats thing at all. I think players should be ready to play when they step on court and make adjustments as they feel they should. I do like on court coaching. I like the exchanges. Having stats will ruin them IMO.
LikeLike
Agree x2! Pliskova-Lisicki would have been fun to see if Karo could get her first win over Sabine. The stats in between matches is too much for me. I do like the coaching timeouts though.
LikeLike
I have always been totally opposed to ‘on court coaching’ at this level a player should be able to make adjustments,it is like ‘spoon feeding players’ half the time the player dosen’t take notice of what a coach is saying anyway.A coach is only allowed a limited amount on time on court,stats for a match should be looked at after the match is over.
LikeLike
Well the on court coaching is largely a mid match pep talk and I quite like that
LikeLike
I enjoy the on court coaching from an entertainment angle and it is allowed in so many other sports. Talking of on court coaching, I just saw on Twitter that Riske’s coach swore at her during one last night… pretty shocking!
LikeLike
I didn’t notice it? I thought his talks with her really got her over the line.
LikeLike
WTA Reactions tweeted it over night. I didn’t see it live but doesn’t look good just watching the clip.
LikeLike
Andrew,we will have to agree to disagree on this rule,heaven help me if it is ever allowed at Grand Slam level.
LikeLike
James,that was utterly disgusting using a four letter word in that match regarding Riske.
LikeLike
Agree.
LikeLike
Did he say “cut the crap”? Whatever he said actually worked for her, anyway.
LikeLike
This will be the first time in WTA history that 3 Czech woman have been in the Top Ten,when the new rankings come out on Monday,Pliskova will be in the Top Ten rankings,well done Pliskova!
Miss Krumm who still plays 80’s style tennis and it works for her will be a test for Pliskova in many ways,she will have to be patient I feel.Miss Krumm take a bow for still competing and loving the game of tennis.Pliskova to win!
LikeLike
It’s funny because Pliskova hasn’t done anything noteworthy in months now. She could find it tough over the next couple of months. She has real points to defend for the first time in her career.
LikeLike
I’m REALLY impressed with Svitolina right now. Her defence isn’t far from Wozniacki or Kerber at their best, but she has a much bigger bag of shots she’s able to go to. Mentally she needs some big wins and/or a title. And she needs to work on her net game, second serve and putting away mid court shots with more purpose. But all of that is really minor adjustments that she’s clearly well capable of. If she can put the work in, I see her going as high as top five.
LikeLike
Svitz vs riske. Huge risk. I think riske will win
LikeLike
Wouldn’t worry about the SAP stats, knowing SAP/IBM as well as I do, it’s likely not to work very well at all…. Love Date Krumm, sad to see sabine lose as an avid fan but happy it was to a player that deserves!!
LikeLike