WTA Toronto – Monday Preview

Samantha Stosur vs. Ayumi Morita

Samantha Stosur is set to take on Ayumi Morita this week in round one of the Rogers Cup.

Samantha Stosur is the tenth seed for this year’s Rogers Cup, and she’ll be searching for her first WTA title of the season here. The Australian will enter the competition with a very respectable 24-16 match record for the season, and it should be worth keeping an eye on her progress. Stosur will make a start to her campaign this week by facing Ayumi Morita of Japan in the first round. Morita has been in reasonable form of late, and her recent victory over Ana Ivanovic outlines her capacity to be a threat to the big names.

She’s been climbing the rankings recently, and will be aiming to close in on the top twenty.

Whilst Morita has a lot of talent, Stosur should have the experience and ability to pull through. The Australian hasn’t won a match since June, but she’s only entered two events since Eastbourne, and should be able to get right back to winning ways in the near future.

Andrea Petkovic vs. Eugenie Bouchard

Andrea Petkovic will make a start to her Rogers Cup campaign this week with a first round matchup against Eugenie Bouchard.

Andrea Petkovic has excelled so far in 2011, and she enters this year’s Rogers Cup as the eleventh seed. Her recent results have been fairly impressive, and she may well have found herself in the final of the Mercury Insurance Open last week had she not began to falter in the second set of her semi-final clash against Agnieszka Radwanska on Saturday.

Her opening match here in Toronto will be a first round showdown against Canadian wildcard entrant Eugenie Bouchard. Bouchard is currently the world No. 355, and at the age of 17 is showing a lot of potential. Some of her performances at ITF level this season have been superb, but she’s going to need to dig deep to compete at this level.

This will be a huge step up for Bouchard, and it will be interesting to see how she handles the pressure of this occasion. There’s no doubt that she’ll be fired up for this match though, and eager to show what she can do in front of a home crowd. Petkovic should be able to get through this contest unscathed, but Bouchard is likely to put up a tenacious resistance.

Jelena Jankovic vs. Julia Goerges

Jelena Jankovic is set to face Julia Goerges this week in what promises to be an action-packed first round showdown at the Rogers Cup.

In what should be one of the most exciting first round matches of this year’s Rogers Cup, Jelena Jankovic is scheduled to take on Julia Goerges. The Serb is seeded fifteenth for this event, but that hasn’t spared her from a difficult first round clash. Goerges has been in good form this season, and stands out as one of the most capable unseeded players in the draw.

Jankovic has an encouraging track record against the German though, having beaten her earlier this season at Indian Wells, and in 2009 at Wimbledon. Jankovic managed to secure both victories in straight sets, but it’s worth noting that Goerges has the ability to contend with the big names in the WTA.

Jankovic will be considered the favourite here, though it would be surprising if this turned out to be a one-sided contest. Both of these players have what it takes to make the latter stages here in Toronto, and it will be fascinating to see who ends up getting the upper hand.

Serena Williams vs. Alona Bondarenko

Serena Williams will be back in action this week in the first round of the Rogers Cup.

Serena Williams has made an incredible return from injury so far, and she’ll enter this year’s Rogers Cup in search of her second WTA title of the season. The former world No. 1 blew away a top quality field in Stanford just a few weeks ago, and she should be a force to be reckoned with here in Toronto.

She’ll get her title challenge underway with a first round matchup against Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine. Bondarenko is currently the world No. 126, and her 3-8 match record for the season is something that she’ll be hoping to improve upon as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for her, it seems very unlikely that she’ll be able to achieve much this week.

Williams has a 2-0 head to head record against Bondarenko prior to this contest, and as yet she’s never even come close to losing a set against her. Typically, you’d expect even the best players to struggle on their return from injury, but Serena has demonstrated that she’s already in a position to mix it up with the best. Expect Williams to wrap up the win in straight sets.

Venus Williams vs. Ana Ivanovic

Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic are set for an exciting round one showdown this week at the Rogers Cup.

Venus Williams has a surprising 0-3 match record at the Rogers Cup, but she’ll enter this week’s event with every hope of achieving a respectable run at least.Despite only having ranking points from four tournaments, Williams is ranked in the top forty, and should be considered a genuine contender to win this competition.

Williams has a tough first round clash ahead of her though, as she’ll be up against fellow former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic performed well last week in Carlsbad, but fell just short in the semi-finals against Vera Zvonareva. The Serb has a real challenge ahead of her here, but she could make the latter stages in Toronto if she can somehow get past the American.

Williams will be the favourite to win this match, owing to her 7-1 head to head record against Ivanovic.She’s only recently returned from injury, but Venus seems likely to have the edge once again. Despite this, Ivanovic should be competitive, and it won’t be a major upset if she prevails.