WTA: Preview, Predictions for the Citi Open

Sep 1, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Sloane Stephens (USA) returns a shot against Serena Williams (USA) on day seven of the 2013 US Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

WTA: Preview and Predictions for the Citi Open and Stanford

The US Open Series is finally open us! To bolster their preparations for the final grand slam of the year, the women of the WTA will be able to play the Citi Open in Washington, or the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford.

Both tournaments suffer from a batch of withdrawals. The two Wimbledon finalists – Serena Williams and Garbine Muguruza – were scheduled to play in Stanford, but have both pulled out due to injury. For fans of Serena, this is an ominous sign regarding her chances to claim the ever-elusive calendar Grand Slam, alongside her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam in New York. Meanwhile, it’s hard not to be disappointed that we have to wait another week to see how Muguruza will follow up her outstanding Wimbledon campaign. The Citi Open has also lost big names in Eugenie Bouchard, Victoria Azarenka and Sara Errani.

Nevertheless, both draws are packed with big names and enticing match-ups that are sure to help kick-off the road to New York in style. Here are some thoughts and predictions for the women playing this week:

Citi Open

Top Half

Ekaterina Makarova headlines what is a relatively stacked draw for an International tournament. Six months ago the Russian would have been the favourite to take out the title, but she has been struggling of late. Makarova has only reached 3 quarterfinals this year, with the last coming in Stuttgart. However, her best results have come on the hard courts, and she has a somewhat easy path to the quarterfinal if she’s in top form.

The next highest seed in Makarova’s section of the draw is Belinda Bencic, whose year has followed the opposite path of Makarova’s. After a rough start to the season, Bencic has delivered some outstanding results, including a title run in Eastbourne and an impressive second-week showing at Wimbledon.

Irina Camelia-Begu and Coco Vandeweghe round out the seeds in the top half of the draw. Begu has had solid, if not remarkable, results this year, finding herself firmly planted just inside the top 30. Vandeweghe, on the other hand, was experiencing a dismal 2015 before making a splash in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Other dangerous players in this section include French Open quarterfinalist Alison Van Uytvanck, the resurgent Madison Brengle, the ever-talented and ever-frustrating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Magdalena Rybarikova, and one of the most entertaining presences in tennis, Yulia Putintseva.

Aside from the potentially tricky Van Uytvanck, Makarova should have no trouble on her journey to the quarterfinals. Bencic should also be too consistent for Pavs or Rybarikova and should easily live up to her seeding.

Begu and Vandeweghe are less reliable bets. If Begu can make her way through Brengle she’ll look good to make the quarterfinals, but the American is by no means an easy out. However, Brengle did have a rough Wimbledon, where she fell in the first round to Venus Williams 6-0, 6-0, so I’ll give the Romanian the edge.

Vandeweghe will also have to ensure that she successfully translates her grass court performances to the American hard courts, instead of reverting back to the player she was prior to Wimbledon. Putintseva, Kurumi Nara and Christina McHale will all provide stern tests for the American. In particular, the bad blood between Vandeweghe and Putintseva will make for a mouthwatering affair, should they both reach the second round.

Quarterfinal Prediction: Begu d. Makarova, Bencic d. Vandeweghe

Semifinal Prediction: Bencic d. Begu

Bottom Half

Bad Gastein champion Sam Stosur is the biggest name in the bottom section of the draw. The Australian can only perform her best when her confidence is high, so her title run in Austria two weeks ago should serve her well here. Although her year hasn’t been fantastic, she’s played well enough at the smaller tournaments to maintain her ranking inside the top 30. However, her draw will ensure that a deep run in Washington won’t come easily. She has been handed possibly the most difficult first round matchup in the form of Kristina Mladenovic. Although Stosur leads their head-to-head 3-0, their last two encounters have been incredibly tight, and the the Frenchwoman’s game can be lethal on any given day.

Eighth-seeded Zarina Diyas is slated to meet Stosur in the quarterfinals. The young Kazakh consistently performs well enough to ensure a sustain a top-40 ranking but struggles to consistently defeat players ranked above her.

Other notable players in Stosur’s section are eccentric Romanian Monica Niculescu, who has experienced some outstanding results of late and finds herself well inside the top-40, and Lara Arruabarrena, a Spanish puzzle that Stosur doesn’t seem able to figure out.

On the other side of Stosur’s half is the defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. Aside from an astounding run in Madrid, Sveta has had an abysmal 2015, and it would be surprising to see her turn her year around here. The same can be said of fifth-seed Alize Cornet who currently sits outside the top 35 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.

Two women who could take advantage of the easy draw are Heather Watson and Sloane Stephens. Watson will surely be brimming with confidence following her third-round tussle with Serena Williams at Wimbledon. Meanwhile, Stephens has been gradually improving this year, but is still yet to claim a maiden WTA title. With a more consistent game, a home crowd advantage and a relatively simple draw, the American has a strong chance of venturing deep in the draw.

Quarterfinal Prediction: Stephens d. Watson, Mladenovic d. Niculescu

Semifinal Prediction: Stephens d. Mladenovic

It’s risky to go with Stephens, given that she isn’t a seed and has never reached a tournament final. However, if she is to finally claim that elusive title, this tournament presents her best chance yet.

Final Prediction: Stephens d. Bencic

More from WTA

Bank of the West Classic

Here are a few thoughts on the Stanford draw. For a more extensive look at the tournament, click here.

With the withdrawal of Serena Williams and a return to the hard courts she loves so much, Caroline Wozniacki may just be the favourite to take out the title here. A deep run here will help boost her confidence going into her favourite grand slam.

And although Agnieszka Radwanska is the second seed here, Wozniacki’s biggest threat for the title may be fifth-seed Angelique Kerber. The German has been outstanding at the Premier-level tournaments this year, clinching three titles in Stuttgart, Charleston and Birmingham. And if the Stuttgart final is anything to go by, a Kerber-Wozniacki final would serve up a delicious finale to the tournament.

Another serious competitor for the title is Agnieszka Radwanska, who revived a lagging 2015 on the grass courts. If she can adapt her excellent grass court form to the hard courts she’ll surely challenge Kerber for a spot in the final.

The Top-5 seeds are rounded out by Carla Suarez Navarro and Karolina Pliskova. Suarez Navarro has had a career year when it comes to WTA tournaments, reaching 12 quarterfinals from 13 tournaments. Granted, her grass court season was pretty shocking, but it would be a shock to see her bow out early this week. Pliskova is also experiencing the best season of her career thus far, and a deep run here will likely secure her that inevitable top ten ranking.

Madison Keys is also in the draw here and seeded seventh. After strong showings in Melbourne and Wimbledon, Keys will feel the pressure of performing in front of her home crowd. If her early exits in Miami and Indian Wells earlier in the year are strong precedents, the stress may prevent Keys from performing well here. Luckily, her draw on the path to the quarterfinals is relatively straightforward, with her greatest challenge set to come from first-round opponent Aleksandra Krunic.

Andrea Petkovic and Elina Svitolina constitute the remainder of the 8 seeds in the draw. Petkovic should have an easy time of her first few rounds, before falling victim to Wozniacki in the quarterfinals. Svitolina, though, faces a tough challenge in the first round with a matchup against fellow Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenk0. Bondarenka has been playing some fantastic tennis recently, taking out Venus Williams in Istanbul two weeks ago. Given Svitolina’s disappointing performances in the last few months, including a first round loss in Istanbul, an upset may be on the cards.

As for other potential upsets, Sabine Lisicki lurks in Pliskova’s section of the draw, and is always willing to cause a few shocks when her game is working. The always-dangerous Caroline Garcia can be found in Svitolina’s section of the draw, and has a game big enough to reach the semifinals. Also, don’t be surprised if Kerber barely survives her first round match. Why? Her opponent will be Rome semifinalist Daria Gavrilova, who has been known to cause an upset or two. She also pushed the German to three tight sets in Sydney earlier this year.

Ultimately, Kerber and Wozniacki will be the favourites to the reach the final. Their match earlier in the year ended at 7-5 in the third set in Kerber’s favour. Wozniacki looked particularly disconsolate after the loss and so a revenge mission isn’t out of the question here.

Quarterfinal Prediction: Wozniacki d. Petkovic, Pliskova d. Keys, Suarez Navarro d. Bondarenko, Kerber d. Radwanska

Semifinal Prediction: Wozniacki d. Pliskova, Kerber d. Suarez Navarro

Final Prediction: Wozniacki d. Kerber

Next: Women's Storylines of the US Open Series

WTA: Preview and Predictions for the Citi Open and Stanford

More from Lob and Smash