WTA Brisbane: Quarter-Final Predictions

Angelique Kerber

WTA Brisbane:

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Angelique Kerber

Angelique Kerber is just one of three seeds remaining in Brisbane, but she has looked far from impressive in her first two matches.  She was on the brink of defeat in her second round match as she trailed the young and talented Monica Puig, 4-1 in the third set before eventually coming through in a final set tiebreak.  Kerber now takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who has made an incredibly encouraging start to 2013 with wins over two Czech players, Lucie Hradecka and Petra Kvitova.  This will be a first ever match-up between Kerber and Pavlyuchenkova and it is a difficult match to call.  Their form in Brisbane would point towards Pavlyuchenkova having the edge, but writing off a gutsy Kerber is never easy...

Prediction - Kerber to beat Pavlyuchenkova in 3 sets

Serena Williams v Sloane Stephens

An all-American match-up between youth and experience will take to the evening session in Brisbane.  Serena Williams has cruised through her opening two matches, but should face stiffer opposition from Sloane Stephens.  The young American has started 2013 in confident fashion with her first top 20 win against Dominika Cibulkova and then backing that up with an equally impressive straight sets win over Sofia Arvidsson.  Once again, this will be a first ever match-up between the pair.  Stephens has a very fluid game and should put more pressure on Serena than her last her opponent, Alize Cornet... still, I only see one winner emerging from this match.

Prediction - Williams to beat Stephens in 2 sets

Best of the rest:

Victoria Azarenka to beat Ksenia Pervak in 2 sets

Daniela Hantuchova to beat Lesia Tsurenko in 2 sets

WTA Auckland Quarter-Finals:

Yanina Wickmayer

Kirsten Flipkens v Yanina Wickmayer

It has been a typical week on the WTA tour as like Brisbane, just three seeds have made the final eight in Auckland.  In the most interesting of the quarter-finals, Yanina Wickmayer will take on fellow Belgian and in-form, Kirsten Flipkens.  Since beating Sam Stosur at s'Hertogenbosch last June, Flipkens has looked like a top 30 player racking up the wins week in, week out.  She has started 2013 in similar fashion with wins over Galina Voskoboeva and Pauline Parmentier.   

Wickmayer has also eased through her first two matches and looked back to somewhere near her best level following a 2012 dominated by injury niggles.  Wickmayer has won their two previous encounters, but I have a feeling that all the wins at the back end of 2012 has given Flipkens a lot of confidence and she will edge a tight quarter-final here..

Prediction - Flipkens to beat Wickmayer in 3 sets

Best of the rest:

Agnieszka Radwanska to beat Elena Vesnina in 2 sets

Jamie Hampton to beat Kiki Bertens in 3 sets

Mona Barthel to beat Johanna Larsson in 2 sets

ATP Brisbane 2nd Round Predictions: 

Milos Raonic to beat Grigor Dimitrov in 3 sets

Lleyton Hewitt to beat Denis Istomin in 3 sets

Andy Murray to beat Josh Millman in 2 sets

David Goffin to beat Jurgen Melzer in 2 tight sets

ATP Doha Quarter-Final Predictions:

Nikolay Davydenko to beat Simone Bolelli in 2 tight sets

Gael Monfils to beat Daniel Brands in 3 sets

Richard Gasquet to beat Lukas Lacko in 2 tight sets 

You can check out my predictions for each event by clicking the tags at the top of this page.  I have also done predictions for Chennai and Shenzhen, the latter has been a total disaster!