USO Day 1 Picks and What to Watch

by @TWMasterAce

Monday, 26 August, marks the beginning of the 2013 edition of the United States Open. There are 32 matches scheduled from the top half of the women's draw. Spin will be doing her daily picks for those who play Suicide Pool. For those who don't and would like to see some fun women's matches, or maybe just pay attention to a player that you have never heard of before, or might like to say I saw Jane Brown before she became famous, Master Ace will be picking 3 matches to watch and telling you why you should pay attention to those matches. From time to time we might throw in a veteran or two and both Spin and Patrick will try to watch as many matches as we can just so we can provide useful match analysis.

So, without further ado, below are Ace's matches to watch:

Kirsten Flipkens vs Venus Williams – These ladies can not avoid each other in the draw. Flipkens has played well in the last year capped off by a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon. V Williams is a 2 time champion but has not played well lately. Flipkens won their last meeting but V Williams is looking for some Open Magic for the next two weeks.

Jelena Jankovic vs Madison Keys – This could be a tight affair. Jankovic played well at Cincinnati and is looking to continue her momentum while Keys wants to have another solid Slam resuls. However, Keys has been slowed down by injury which caused her to withdraw from both Toronto and Cincinnati qualifying.

Karolina Pliskova vs Eugenie Bouchard – Pliskova won her maiden title at Kuala Lumpur and made the Top 100 in the process but has been struggling lately. Bouchard has had a solid summer having a solid result in Toronto and took S Williams to three sets in Cincinnati. Bouchard has a chance to make it to week two.

Spin's Picks - Spin's pick is in red

Serena Williams (USA) [1] v Francesca Schiavone (ITA) - no 1st round loss at the USO
Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ) v Monica Niculescu (ROU) - on form only 
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) v Olga Puchkova (RUS) - what is Yaro's form these days?
P.Mayr-Achleitner (AUT) v Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) [29]  - title in DC
Jamie Hampton (USA) [23] v Lara Arruabarrena (ESP) -not played much but home court 
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v A.Medina Garrigues (ESP) - does poorly at Slams
Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) v Urszula Radwanska (POL) on form alone
Mandy Minella (LUX) v Sloane Stephens (USA) [15] - on form alone 

Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) [12] v Venus Williams (USA) - sentimental pick 
Kiki Bertens (NED) v Jie Zheng (CHN) on form alone
Coco Vandeweghe (USA) v Aleksandra Krunic (SRB)  - better athlete
Lauren Davis (USA) v Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP) [18] - on form alone 
Kaia Kanepi (EST) [25] v Vania King (USA) - on form alone 
Stefanie Voegele (SUI) v Anna Schmiedlova (SVK) - form 
Karolina Pliskova (CZE) v Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) - battle of the young uns
Lucie Hradecka (CZE) v Angelique Kerber (GER) [8] just because she is a seed

Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [3] v Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP) nothing to hurt this top seed 
M.Torro-Flor (ESP) v Marina Erakovic (NZL) playing really great tennis 
E.Cabeza Candela (ESP) v Ashleigh Barty (AUS) very talented youngster
Virginie Razzano (FRA) v A.Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) [32] made quarters in New Haven
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [24] v Polona Hercog (SLO) made quarters in New Haven
Mathilde Johansson (FRA) v Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) home court advantage 
Paula Ormaechea (ARG) v Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN) 2nd retirement in sight 
Vera Dushevina (RUS) v Sabine Lisicki (GER) [16] on form alone 

Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [9] v Madison Keys (USA) on form alone + Keys injury 
Monica Puig (PUR) v Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) on her way back, due for a big win 
Kurumi Nara (JPN) v Alexandra Cadantu (ROU) pick em 
Sharon Fichman (CAN) v Sorana Cirstea (ROU) [19] on form alone. Made  Toronto final
Laura Robson (GBR) [30] v Lourdes Dominguez Lino (ESP) how is that wrist Ms. Robson
Caroline Garcia (FRA) v Shelby Rogers (USA) a real pick em. Garcia has been up and down 
Petra Cetkovska (CZE) v Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) nothing since Wimby but loves the big stage
Olga Govortsova (BLR) v Na Li (CHN) [5] - could be a tough one but top seed should go through

WTA DRAW ANALYSIS - USO 2013

By Patrick Hinton @TWMasterAce

With the pullout of Maria Sharapova, Sara Errani was given a quarter and without further fanfare, here is a look at each quarter. Numbers and letters (F = floater) in parthensis are where the players were in my WTA contenders and floaters article.

First quarter

Top 4 players – (1) Serena Williams, (F)Angelique Kerber, Kirsten Flipkens and (10) Sloane Stephens

This section should not be difficult for S Williams. However, we could have a Labor Day battle between S Williams and Stephens, which would be a rematch of the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals. Sloane recently fell in the quarter-final in New Haven against former No. 1. Caroline Wozniacki.   Also, featured players below the top four in this quarter are V Williams, 2000-2001 champion, Jamie Hampton and the return of Kaia Kanepi, who has been MIA since her quarter final loss to this year’s Wimbledon finalist, Sabine Lisicki.  She has not played any tune up events, and it will be a miracle if she makes it pass the first round.

Predicted quarterfinal – S Williams vs V Williams with S Williams advancing to the semifinals

Second quarter

Top 4 players – (4) Agnieszka Radwanska, (3)Na Li, (8) Jelena Jankovic and Sabine Lisicki

This section is the most difficult quarter. The featured players below the top four are Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who double faulted her way out of a semifinal place in New Haven, (F) Sorana Cirstea, who made the finals of Toronto, Ekaterina Makarova, Laura Robson, who eliminated Kim Clijsters and Li last year and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Interesting that Pauline Parmentier gave her wildcard to Virginie Razzano, who made the semifinals at Carlsbad.

Predicted quarterfinal – A Radwanska vs Jankovic with A Radwanska advancing to the semifinals

Third quarter

Top 4 players – (F) Sara Errani, (9) Caroline Wozniacki, Roberta Vinci and (F)Maria Kirilenko

This section is the one where someone that is not known could make a breakthrough to the semifinals as the heavy hitters are not located here. Featured players below the top four in this quarter are (F) Simona Halep, who has won 3 titles in 5 weeks after the French Open, Elena Vesnina, who Pete Bodo is predicting to make the semifinals, Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2004 champion and the ever dangerous Lucie Safarova.

Predicted quarterfinal – Wozniacki vs Halep with Wozniacki advancing to the semifinals

Fourth quarter

Top 4 players – (2) Victoria Azarenka, (6) Petra Kvitova, (7) Samantha Stosur and Ana Ivanovic

This section is the most aggressive quarter. The featured players below the top four are Dominika Cibulkova, 2013 Stanford winner, Nadia Petrova, Andrea Petkovic and Varvara Lepchenko. Also, returning back to the tour is Aleksandra Wozniak, who lost a tight 3 setter against Ekaterina Makarova in New Haven.

Predicted quarterfinal – Stsour vs Azarenka with Azarenka advancing to the semifinals

Semifinals

S Williams vs A Radwanska – In their last meeting at Toronto, A Radwanska played a tight 2 setter but S Williams was tougher on the bigger points. At 2012 Wimbledon, A Radwanska forced a 3^rd set once S Williams got nervous leading by a set and a break. If A Radwanska was to pull off the upset, she must win the crucial points.

Wozniacki vs Azarenka – In their last meeting at Cincinnati, Wozniacki played more aggressive than expected but lost in straight set as Azarenka played the crucial points better. Wozniacki did show improvements but in order for her to win, she must continue to be aggressive.

Predicted final – S Williams vs Azarenka

Final

S Williams vs Azarenka – In three finals played in 2013, Azarenka has won two. Azarenka wins were at Doha and Cincinnati with S Williams winning in Rome. In last year’s title match, Azarenka rallied from a set down to lead 5-3 in the final set but could not close the match. In their last meeting in Cincinnati, Azarenka repeated the same story as last year United States Open but stepped her game up when S Williams was serving for the title and the winning point in the match, in my opinion, was the volley Azarenka made in the deciding tiebreaker to earn her second match point. A key point in that tiebreak was S Williams missed a backhand long as she had the open court as Azarenka was pulled wide and if I recall, would have given S Williams 2 match points. S Williams must get cheap points on her serve and footwork must improve. Azarenka must be returning well and stay mentally focused for the entire match.

Predicted champion – Victoria Azarenka

WTA'S CONTENDERS AND FLOATERS - USO 2013

As we approach the final Grand Slam of the year, the Spin takes a look at the list of floaters and contenders for the USO Title.  For the next 2 weeks, I will have Master Ace, a tennis fan and fellow WTA aficionado breaking down the women's draw and assisting with Suicide Picks and daily commentary on the matches to watch and providing up to date commentary on the match that was.  You can follow Master Ace on Twitter at @TWMasterAce

You will also have your very own Spin’s takes on matches to watch and why you should mute your tv and go find a stream on which to watch tennis matches. 

So, without further ado, below are Master Ace’s contenders and floaters.

United States Open Top 10 WTA Contenders and Floaters

2013 record (as of 8/18/13) – Best United States Open Result – Wins, other results and comments

(1) Serena Williams(60-4) : 1999, 2002, 2008 and 2012 W:  French Open, Miami, Madrid, Rome, Toronto, Brisbane, Charleston and Bastad . Even though she has had a dominant year, some people would consider her year a disappointment if she does not defend her United States Open title. She lost a tough final in Cincinnati to Victoria Azarenka despite not playing well all tournament. She will be playing for 2.6 million dollars as she won the USO Series.

(2) Victoria Azarenka(34-4): 2012 F:  Australian Open, Doha and Cincinnati. Recovering from the fall from Wimbledon, she won the title at Cincinnati defeating Serena Williams and made the finals at Carlsbad. However, injury and a questionable serve can derail her from winning her first Slam outside of Melbourne. In 2012, she was one game away from the title leading 5-3 in the final set.

(3) Na Li (32-11): 2009 QF:  Shenzhen. She had a solid summer as she made the semifinals at Toronto and Cincinnati. If she gets on a hot streak, there are only two players that can slow her down but if she is struggling, she can make plane reservations back to China.

(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (42-13): 2007, 2008 and 2012 R16: Sydney and Auckland.  She made the finals at Stanford, semifinals at Toronto, quarterfinals at Carlsbad and quarterfinals at Cincinnati. She pulled out of the tournament at Cincinnati due to the death of her grandfather. She is the only player to make at the least the quarterfinals in the previous 3 Slams played.

 (5) Maria Sharapova (37-7): 2006 W: Indian Wells and Stuttgart. Since making the finals at the French Open, she has been struggling. She lost in the second round at Wimbledon and at Cincinnati. At Wimbledon, she slipped and injured her hip in the process which caused her to miss Toronto. In that time frame, she hired Jimmy Connors to coach her but after losing in Cincinnati, she gave Connors his dismissal papers via her Dad. If I saw and/or read correctly, her Dad will be coaching her for the United States Open.

(6) Petra Kvitova(35-18): 2009 and 2012 R16:  Dubai. So far during US Open Series, she made the quarterfinals at Carlsbad losing a 3 hour and 35 minute match, quarterfinals at Toronto and losing a tough 3 setter at Cincinnati. Since 2012 started, Kvitova has struggled to meet expectations despite winning some good tournaments.

(7) Samantha Stosur(28-17):  2011 W:  Carlsbad. She won the title at Carlsbad defeating Victoria Azarenka. Since then, she has not been able to consolidate that win at Toronto and Cincinnati. After her loss in Cincinnati, she and David Taylor spilt after 6 years. Alicia Molik will be coaching her for the United States Open but a permanent coach is scheduled to be in place for the fall season.

(8) Jelena Jankovic(36-15). 2008 F:  Bogota. She has played well so far in 2013 and in Cincinnati, she gave Azarenka a tough 3 set match where that match had 23 breaks of serve in 27 service games played.

 (9) Caroline Wozniacki (24-18): 2009 F:  This year has been a disappointment for her as she is losing matches against players that she would have defeated in 2010 and 2011.  In the last 2 weeks, she lost a tough 3 setter in Toronto and a tight 2 setter in Cincinnati. In Toronto, she had 2 match points to defeat Sorana Cirstea and in Cincinnati, she played well against  Victoria Azarenka but Azarenka was too tough on the crucial points. Will she continue to play decently when the United States Open starts as this has been traditionally her best Slam?

 (10) Sloane Stephens (27-17): 2011 and 2012 R32. Her best performances of the season have been in Slam play where she has made the 4^th round or better in all Slams. In Cincinnati, she got her 2^nd signature win of the season defeating Sharapova in Cincinnati. Before Cincinnati, she won only one match in USA for the year.

FLOATERS 

Sorana Cirstea (29-20): 2009 R32. She had her best tournament of the season when she made the finals at Toronto defeating 4 seeds along the way. All the seeds she defeated were either a former number 1 or a Slam champion getting good coaching advisement from Darren Cahill along the way.

Sara Errani (43-18): 2012 SF. Acapulco

Simona Halep (31-14):2011 & 2012 R64.  Nurnberg,’ s-Hertogenbosch and Budapest.  She made the quarterfinals at Cincinnati in her only US Open Series event\

Angelique Kerber (30-17): 2011 SF

Maria Kirilenko (31-14): 2011 R16 - Pattaya City

Since the above list was compiled, we have had the withdrawal of Maria Sharapova from the US Open, citing a recurrence of the shoulder injury that sidelined her for almost a year.   We wish Ms. Sharapova well in her recuperation.   However, can we say WAG time as I am sure that she will be cheering on her beau on the ATP from the stands and selling her candy while she is at it.

The Spin will be back later today or tomorrow when Master Ace will give a breakdown in the  Spin’s Seed Report.

SOUNDING THE DEATH KNELL FOR WOMEN'S TENNIS

Forbes just published its list of celebrity sports personality.  At the top of the list was the reigning No. 1 women’s player in the world, Serena Williams.

Forbes also published a list of the biggest earners in professional sports marketing.  At the top of the list was Maria Sharapova, currently the WTA No. 3, right behind her were Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Li Na.

The WTA, at the Championships, Wimbledon this year patted itself on the back as it celebrated 40 years of its existence.  

During this USO hard court season, a time when fans and casual fans of the sport are being bombarded with the Emirates USO Series, the WTA announced a new partnership with SAP as it relates to delivering up to the minute stats on women’s tennis.

Earlier this year, the WTA announced that it was partnering with BT Sport to showcase women’s tennis around the globe.  Indeed, during this particular announcement, the WTA also announced that come 2014 its WTA Tour Championships will be moving from Istanbul, Turkey, where it has enjoyed exceptional crowd support to Singapore, not exactly a hot bed of professional tennis, but the word is that Asia is the new black, so everyone and their mother seems to be packing up to head to the Far East.  Does not matter that empty stands seems to be a feature of tennis in Asia.

The above announcements shows that women’s tennis is popular.  They seem able to secure partnerships and sponsors and their leading ladies are pulling in the money and getting their names in the news and making money.  Why then is it that whenever there is a combined event, which seems to be happening all over these days, do the women get shoved aside for mediocre men’s matches.  A case in point.  Today, 13 August 2013, during the W&S Open, there were 5 matches featured on Centre Court, 2 of those matches were women’s matches.  On the Grand Stand Court, there were 5 matches scheduled, the lone female singles match, featured former No.1 and French Open champion Ana Ivanovic.  It was not even televised.   I am assuming that the only courts that are televised are Centre Court and the Grand Stand.  The men’s matches which were played on the Grand Stand courts were televised.

The recently concluded Rogers Cup, which is a combined event held in separate cities (women in Toronto, men in Montreal) featured more men’s matches on tv, rather than women.  To show how bad things were, the current WTA No.1, a crowd pleaser if ever there was one, had her match livestreamed for those living in the US.  Meanwhile, Tennis Channel, that bastion of quality programming, featured the US Davis Cup effort and in case you missed it the first time around, the Dubai Duty Free Championships, because frankly that is what people pay good money to see.

I do not reside in the United States.  I reside in the Cayman Islands and I subscribe to the Tennis Channel via Dish Network.  I had to install a 6 foot dish in order to get that particular channel, so I invested a pretty penny to get this channel and it has been the most disappointing investment of my life.

However, what is even more disappointing is the dreadful coverage for women’s tennis, not only at these combined events, but especially when the women’s tour hits the United States.  Fans on Twitter and other social media complain daily of the lack of coverage of women’s tennis.  The powers that be would have us think that it is only men’s tennis that fans wish to see, but a quick survey taken today showed that the discussion surrounding the lack of coverage of the women’s event far outweighed the coverage of the men’s matches that were being shown.

Surely Stacey Allaster must be aware of the fact that women’s tennis is dying not because of lack of attendance at Tour events but because there is a lack of recognition of the needs of fans.  How can anyone become involved in women’s tennis if they never get to see the sport being played?  How can you become engaged with the women of the Tour if you never get to see them display their skill at this and other events on Tour? What is happening now to women’s tennis is akin to what happened prior to the formation of the WTA.  The women are being treated as if their Tour is not as important as the men’s tour and this is not right.

It is bad enough when at a women’s event there are men who are being paid to do exhibitions at these events and nothing is being said about this by the head of the WTA. How is it possible that this is allowed to happen?  How is it that on the one hand fans of women’s tennis are being bombarded about how much the sport has grown, when in actuality, unless you are a dedicated fan, you are hardly pressed to try and find young and upcoming players for which to root?

I know I have said this a million times, and I suspect that I will continue to do so, but surely, at some point in time, the WTA has to take stock of its product and realize that it is losing out on a massive audience that is just dying to engage with the women of this wonderful sport, the way they are supposed to.

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF SPORT

Way back in the day when I lived in Jamaica, there was a programme that aired on the local tv station called Wild World of Sports. One of the highlights of that show was the narrator talking about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  They also spoke about the triumph of the human spirit in a sporting environment.

I am not the most athletic person, but when I was younger, I played netball, I swam, I played hockey and I did track and field.  As I got older I took up tennis but as with most things when you get to an old age, your body starts to fail you and you can no longer continue.

I enjoy watching tennis, especially women's tennis. The characters and personalities in tennis are all divisive in their own way and they make for absolutely great story lines.  I strongly believe that one of the reasons why there are so many tennis blogs out there competing for the average tennis fans' attention is because there are so many wonderful athletes who are out there competing day in and day out.  They all have their little quirks that they do before each point and most people would be able to pick tennis players out of a line up if all you had to do was tell someone exactly what said person was doing, or indeed if all you had to go by was a short snapshot of what each player did between points.  There is the Federer hair toss, the Serena Williams glare, the Azarenka/Wozniacki jumping up and down, the Sharapova/Hantuchova walk to the back of the court to commune.  The list goes on and on.

However, there is one person whose foibles are cast in stone.  From the jumping up and down prior to receiving serve, to the wave of her whole body to and fro prior to receiving serve, to the constant fist pumps to her box, the focus and intensity on every single point, I don't think there is anyone in tennis who has as many quirks and foibles as does Bartoli.

I have never been a fan of the French woman.  I think sometimes her quirks border on unsportsmanlike conduct.  I think she goes over and beyond in her competitiveness and this sometimes irks me.  However, one thing I have to do is give her credit.  Credit for doing what is/was right to move her career forward and to realise her potential and credit to actually having the guts to do something that she should have done a long time ago.

Last year when Bartoli was unable to compete for France at the Olympics, I was one of the few that sided with the French Federation. All Federations have rules and everyone, no matter who you are, have to abide by those rules.  For the FFT, the rule was that you could not be coached by your personal coach when you played Fed Cup. Bartoli and her father refused for many years to abide by these rules and as a result her dream of representing France at last year's Olympic was not realised.

Fast forward to 2013 and Marion parted ways with her father/coach.  I cannot imagine that it was an easy decision for her.  Once she had parted ways with him she struggled to find form.  She did not make it past the second round of any tournament at which she played.   Her game suffered.  The double faults, something which has always plagued her. intensified.  When she got to Wimbledon, no one, and I mean no one picked her to even make the second round, much more the second seek.

As she stated, when she started the tournaemtn at Court 14, she had no idea that she would have been the last woman standing. Bartoli, as so many late bloomers have done since Schiavone at the French Open in 2010, seized her moment and never let go.

Bartoli had been down this road before.  In 2007 she faced down then No. 1 Justine Henin and pipped her at the finish line in a wonderful display of grass court tennis.  She failed to make a dent in the game of the Legend that is Venus Williams, but she showed true grit nonetheless.

It took her 6 years to make her way back to Centre Court. 6 years during which time she has not fared particularly well at the Slams, with her best showing being a semi-final finish at the French Open in 2011.

I hope that Marion's win at Wimbledon will show the other women on Tour, who have the game, but not the mentality to do what is right in their careers.  Caroline Woznaicki reigned for 2 years as the No.1  player in the world.  She has indicated on more than one occassion that she is severing coaching ties with her father but as at the time of writing that coaching situation remains the same.

Marion Bartoli has shown that once you have the guts to do what is necessary to advance your career, you will achieve greatness.

Marion Bartoli, Wimbledon Ladies Champion 2013 

WIMBLEDON DAY 2 PICKS

Spin got slammed yesterday.  There are no 2 ways to describe what happened on Day 1 on the women's side.  From young Puig slamming the NO. 5 seed, Errani in straight sets, to Sharapova struggling against Krista, to Vika almost retiring against her opponent, to the struggles of Bartoli and Flipkens, the women's bottom half of the draw saw more drama than anything else.  Of course the day will be remembered for the upset heard around the world with Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion on the men's side going out in straight sets to Steve Darcis. 

The top half of the women's draw plays tomorrow and the reigning ladies' champion, current occupier of the Penthouse and the No. 1 seed, Serena Williams, opens action on Day 2 on  Centre Court.

The OOP for tomorrow is filled with lots of great matches and it took Spin almost 2 hours to really make her picks.  I will therefore advise all readers of this blog to tread carefully when making your picks, because unlike Spin, you don't want to get slammed in Suicide Pool.  

Spin's Picks are as usual in red:-

Day 2 Matches

Serena Williams (USA) [1] v Mandy Minella (LUX) 
Q Caroline Garcia (FRA) v Jie Zheng (CHN) 
Kimiko Date-Krumm (JPN) v Q Carina Witthoeft (GER) 
Alexandra Cadantu (ROU) v Tamira Paszek (AUT) [28]

Sabine Lisicki (GER) [23] v Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 
Elena Vesnina (RUS) v Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) 
Olga Puchkova (RUS) v Arantxa Rus (NED) 
LL Anna Schmiedlova (SVK) v Samantha Stosur (AUS) [14]

Maria Kirilenko (RUS) [10] v Laura Robson (GBR) 
Q Mariana Duque-Marino (COL) v Julia Goerges (GER) 
Ayumi Morita (JPN) v Marina Erakovic (NZL) 
A.Medina Garrigues (ESP) v Shuai Peng (CHN) [24]

Romina Oprandi (SUI) [31] v WC Alison Riske (USA) 
Mallory Burdette (USA) v Urszula Radwanska (POL) 
Kaia Kanepi (EST) v WC Tara Moore (GBR) 
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) v Angelique Kerber (GER) [7]


Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4] v Q Yvonne Meusburger (AUT) 
Timea Babos (HUN) v Mathilde Johansson (FRA) 
Heather Watson (GBR) v Madison Keys (USA) 
Monica Niculescu (ROU) v Mona Barthel (GER) [30]

A.Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) [21] v Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 
Q B.Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) v Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) 
Anna Tatishvili (GEO) v Petra Martic (CRO) 
Karolina Pliskova (CZE) v Nadia Petrova (RUS) [13]

Roberta Vinci (ITA) [11] v Chanelle Scheepers (RSA) 
Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) v Jana Cepelova (SVK) 
M.Torro-Flor (ESP) v Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU) 
Q Maria Elena Camerin (ITA) v Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) [18]

Klara Zakopalova (CZE) [32] v Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 
Nina Bratchikova (RUS) v Annika Beck (GER) 
Olga Govortsova (BLR) v Simona Halep (ROU) 
Michaella Krajicek (NED) v Na Li (CHN) [6]

THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: WIMBLEDON - DAY 1 PICKS

Wimbledon.  The home of tennis.  It is without a doubt my favourite tournament and I really do look forward to seeing and hearing the sounds of Wimbledon.  The music that is played on the television is different than for the other Slams and the calm and serenity that overtakes this tournament transforms the tennis calendar and takes fans back to the days of women playing in long skirts and men in long pants with jackets and waistcoats. 

The draw has been analysed to death and as is the norm on this particular blog, I leave that to those who know how the draws actually work.  As I have done in the past I will feature the day's play and do my picks. The Spin abandoned her picks mid-match due to the loss of a certain player who shall remain nameless.  

Most persons have picked Serena Williams to win this tournament and I can see nothing in her draw (I looked) that would upset her.  

The off court stuff that is now going on will hopefully not affect play.  Much has been said about those off court comments and these have also been analysed to death.  The Spin will not post any thoughts on this, except to say, let the tennis begin. 

The OOP for Monday has been posted and the matches as well as Spin's Picks  below which are in red:-

DAY 1 MATCHES

Sara Errani v Monica Puig
Petra Kvitova v Coco Vandeweghe
Petra Kvitova v Coco Vandeweghe
Carla Suarez Navarro v Lourdes Dominguez Lino
Jelena Jankovic v Johanna Konta
Jelena Jankovic v Johanna Konta
Alize Cornet v Vania King

Silvia Soler-Espinosa v Misaki Doi

Lara Arruabarrena v Lesia Tsurenko

Eva Birnerova v Varvara Lepchenko

Sloane Stephens v Jamie Hampton

Pauline Parmentier v Andrea Petkovic

Petra Cetkovska v Donna Vekic

E.Cabeza Candela v Caroline Wozniacki

Marion Bartoli v Elina Svitolina

Christina McHale v Alexa Glatch

Camila Giorgi v Samantha Murray

Stefanie Voegele v Sorana Cirstea

Lucie Safarova v Lauren Davis

Lucie Hradecka v Karin Knapp

M.Larcher De Brito v Melanie Oudin

Kristina Mladenovic v Maria Sharapova

Kiki Bertens v Yaroslava Shvedova

Garbine Muguruza v Anne Keothavong

Johanna Larsson v Ekaterina Makarova

Sofia Arvidsson v Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Eugenie Bouchard v Galina Voskoboeva

Virginie Razzano v Ana Ivanovic

Yanina Wickmayer v Vesna Dolonc

Ajla Tomljanovic v Bojana Jovanovski

Yulia Putintseva v Kirsten Flipkens

Su-Wei Hsieh v Tatjana Maria

Elena Baltacha v Flavia Pennetta

Maria Joao Koehler v Victoria Azarenka