WTA Baku – Wednesday Preview

Ksenia Pervak vs. Vesna Dolonts

Ksenia Pervak will be up against Vesna Dolonts on Wednesday in the second round of the Baku Cup 2011.

Ksenia Pervak managed to level her head to head record against Noppawan Lertcheewakarn on Wednesday, coming back from a set behind to win 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. Pervak will be pleased to have gotten out of this tricky first round clash unscathed, and she’ll now be aiming to reach the latter stages. The seventh seed’s next opponent will be Vesna Dolonts of Russia. Dolonts has been playing well recently, and she could be set for another decent run in WTA competition having beaten Alona Bondarenko of the Ukraine in round one, 6-3, 6-3. Dolonts can expect a tougher match on Wednesday, but on this kind of form she appears to be a threat to Pervak.

This will be the first competitive meeting between Pervak and Dolonts, and it promises to be an exciting showdown. Pervak is ranked over 30 places above Dolonts in the rankings and appears to be the favourite.

Elena Vesnina vs. Aravane Rezai

Elena Vesnina and Aravane Rezai will meet on Wednesday for what promises to be a thrilling second round matchup at the Baku Cup 2011.

Elena Vesnina was given a stern test in the first round of this year’s WTA Baku Open, but pulled through on Tuesday, clinching a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win against Russian qualifier Yana Buchina. Vesnina shouldn’t be too concerned by the closeness of this contest though, as things could have been a lot easier for her if she’d saved at least one of the five break points that she faced.

Vesnina may be set for another tough tie on Wednesday, as she’ll be up against Aravane Rezai of France in the second round. Rezai has been out of sorts all season, but she at least managed to make a safe start in Azerbaijan by defeating Kamilla Farhad 6-0, 6-2.

Rezai desperately needs to start racking up some wins, and the fact that she’s already dropped out of the top hundred this year speaks volumes. A victory here could help her to get back on track, though it looks like Vesnina is the likelier of the pairing to make it through to the quarter-finals.