WTA Carlsbad – Thursday Preview

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Jie Zheng

Daniela Hantuchova will face Jie Zheng this week in the third round of the Mercury Insurance Open.

Having received a bye in round one, Daniela Hantuchova began her campaign this week at the Mercury Insurance Open with a straightforward 6-1, 6-3 win against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. She’s the eighth seed here, and more displays like that could put her in with a good chance of claiming her second WTA title of the season. Hantuchova will now face Jie Zheng of China in the third round. Zheng entered this tournament with a disappointing 9-16 match record for 2011, but she’s demonstrated her ability to compete here with back-to-back wins against Mirjana Lucic and ninth seed Roberta Vinci.

Despite this, Zheng seems likely to falter against the world No. 22. She has a 0-4 head to head record against Hantuchova, and has never managed to even take a set from her. There’s a possibility that things will be different this week, but Hantuchova appears to be the clear favourite.

Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Christina McHale

Agnieszka Radwanska will meet Christina McHale this week in Carlsbad in round 3 of the Mercury Insurance Open.

Agnieszka Radwanska battled past a solid second set resistance in round 2 to get past Elena Baltacha this week (6-0, 7-6(4)), and she’ll be aiming to build upon this and reach the latter stages of the Mercury Insurance Open here in Carlsbad. The world No. 13 is expected to be a serious challenger in this event, and will be striving to lift her first WTA title of the season.

Radwanska’s next match will be a third round clash against American youngster Christina McHale. McHale has been rising through the rankings over the past few years, and she seems destined for a bright future. She’s been in inspired form so far this week, and reached round three by achieving a double-bagel over Zoe Gwen Scandalis and beating Alla Kudryavtseva 6-2, 3-1 by virtue of retirement.

Radwanska has never previously faced McHale in WTA competition, and it will be fascinating to see who gets the upper hand. Radwanska is capable of dominating this matchup, but McHale shouldn’t be ruled out in any way. She’s got the ability to really test Radwanska, and this could be a very tricky contest for the third seed.

Andrea Petkovic vs. Virginie Razzano

Andrea Petkovic will continue her challenge here in Carlsbad this week with a third round showdown against Virginie Razzano.

Andrea Petkovic made an assured start to her campaign this week at the Mercury Insurance Open, fighting off a determined challenge from Alexa Glatch to claim a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Given how she’s played this year, the German should be a real contender for the title, and it will be exciting to see how well she performs over the next few days.

Her next match will be a third round clash against Virginie Razzano of France. Razzano has been in decent form this season, and her 6-1, 6-3 demolition of Marina Erakovic in round two stands out as one of her best results this year. Erakovic is showing a lot of potential at the moment, and the margin of Razzano’s victory was fairly surprising.

When Petkovic and Razzano meet on court this week it will be the first competitive matchup between the pairing. Petkovic should have the edge, but Razzano has the talent and experience to make this a close contest.

Vera Zvonareva vs. Vera Dushevina

Top seed Vera Zvonareva is set to face Vera Dushevina this week in round 3 of the Mercury Insurance open.

World No. 3 Vera Zvonareva made a safe start to this year’s Mercury Insurance Open, beating Jill Craybas of America in straight sets (6-4, 7-5) to earn a berth in the third round. Zvonareva appears to have a favourable run-in to the latter stages, and besides Sabine Lisicki she’s the only seeded player left in her quarter of the draw.

Zvonareva will now take on fellow Russian Vera Dushevina this week for a place in the last 8. Dushevina beat Aravane Rezai in a close three-setter in round one, before surviving another three-setter to oust sixteenth seed Polona Hercog in round 2.

Zvonareva currently holds a 5-3 head to head record against Dushevina, though the pairing haven’t met competitively since 2009. At this stage in her career, Zvonareva appears to have the capacity to clinch another win against her compatriot. To add to this, Zvonareva’s form this season has been far superior to Dushevina’s. The world No. 67 will need to be produce a first rate performance in order to defy Zvonareva here.