WTA Toronto – Thursday Preview

Serena Williams vs. Jie Zheng

Serena Williams will take on Jie Zheng this week in Toronto for a place in the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup.

Following her incredible title success in Stanford, Serena Williams is once again looking like one of the best players on the WTA tour. The former world No. 1 has made it through to round 3 in Toronto without losing a set, and it looks like she might be able to win her second WTA title of the season if she continues playing at this level.

Williams announced her presence here with an efficient 6-0, 6-3 dismissal of Alona Bondarenko in round one, before overcoming the threat of Julia Goerges in the second round (6-1, 7-6(7)). Goerges appeared to be a difficult opponent, having defeated fifteenth seed Jelena Jankovic in straight sets (6-1, 6-3) earlier in the week. Williams will surely be delighted to have gotten past the German without having to play a deciding set.

 

Williams will now meet Jie Zheng this week, and a berth in the quarter-finals will be at stake. Zheng lost all four of her previous matchups against Williams, though in fairness she was fairly competitive on 2 of these occasions. That said, it looks like Zheng is likely to be beaten once again here.

Francesca Schiavone vs. Lucie Safarova

Francesca Schiavone is set to take on Lucie Safarova this week in the third round of the Rogers Cup.

Francesca Schiavone made a near perfect start to her campaign this week at the Rogers Cup, blowing away the challenge of Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets to claim a 6-1, 6-3 victory. As the eighth seed, Schiavone will be hoping to reach the latter stages here, and in this kind of form it looks like she should be able to live up to expectations.

Her next matchup will be a third round showdown against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. Safarova had to toil to get past rising star Polona Hercog in round one (6-3, 4-6, 6-3), but produced an outstanding performance to see of the challenge of Simona Halep in the second round on Wednesday (6-2, 6-4).

Schiavone and Safarova have faced each other five times, and the world No. 8 currently holds a 3-2 match record against Safarova. Amazingly, not one of the previous clashes between the pairing have entered three sets. Whilst Schiavone might be considered the favourite, it should be noted that Safarova has a 2-0 record against the Italian on hard courts. There is a lot of potential for an upset here.

Victoria Azarenka vs. Stephanie Dubois

Victoria Azarenka will get her Rogers Cup title bid underway tonight with a second round clash against Stephanie Dubois.

Victoria Azarenka has been a major force in the WTA this season, and she begins this week’s Rogers Cup with 2 WTA titles to her name already for 2011. She’s managed to establish herself as the world No. 4, and her 38-12 match record speaks volumes. She should be a serious contender this week.

The Belarusian received a bye in the first round, and will start her charge tonight against Stephanie Dubois of Canada. Dubois is ranked just outside of the top hundred, but could be a real threat in front of a home crowd. She’s also amassed a healthy amount of victories this season, though a lot of her successes have been at ITF level.

Dubois will need to step up her game in order to trouble Azarenka, and it would be no surprise to see her lose in straight sets. That said, she put up a solid challenge in the only previous matchup between the pairing, where she fell in three sets. That contest was in 2006 though, and at this moment in time it looks like Azarenka is the clear favourite.

Maria Sharapova vs. Bojana Jovanovski

Maria Sharapova is scheduled to meet Bojana Jovanovski today in round two of the Rogers Cup.

Maria Sharapova has been resurgent in 2011 and enters this year’s Rogers Cup as the world No. 5 and fifth seed. The Russian’s 33-9 match record for 2011 underlines her return to form, and she’ll be looking to add a few more wins to her tally this week in Toronto. If she can play her best tennis, she’ll be a genuine contender for the title.

Sharapova was the runner-up at Wimbledon this year, though she failed to build upon this momentum in Stanford, where she last played. Having made it through to the quarter-finals, she was battered by a determined Serena Williams in straight sets. Sharapova should have the mental strength to bounce back from this quickly though.

The fifth seed’s next matchup will be a second round clash against Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia. Jovanovski is a talented youngster, who sits on the brink of the top fifty. She was handed an early retirement victory over Jelena Dokic in round one, and should be feeling fresh ahead of this matchup. Whilst she’s likely to put up a good fight, she could really struggle here if Sharapova is on song.

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