ATP Montreal, WTA Toronto 2nd Round Predictions: Wozniacki-Cirstea, Paire-Wawrinka

1. Caroline Wozniacki v Sorana Cirstea (Toronto, R2)

Caroline Wozniacki

Aside from a run to the final at Indian Wells, 2013 has been largely forgettable for Caroline Wozniacki.  This will be her first match since Wimbledon where she slipped and suffered an injury on Black Wednesday, but kept fighting, before falling to to Petra Cetkovska in straight sets.  Her first match back is bound to be a tough one as she goes up against Sorana Cirstea, who has made a solid start to the US Open series.  She overcame the qualifier, Olga Savchuk in the first round.  Cirstea is known for her inconsistencies and lack of plan B, but she has enough game to trouble Wozniacki, who has not played in over a month.  Three sets, but I think the Dane will hang tough...

Prediction - Wozniacki to beat Cirstea in 3 sets

2. Benoit Paire v Stanislas Wawrinka (Montreal, R2)

Wednesday's most potentially compelling encounter on the mens side will see BFF's, Benoit Paire and Stanislas Wawrinka square off in round two.  Wawrinka had a bye in the first round, meanwhile Paire overcame a tricky match with Philipp Kohlschreiber, coming through in two tight sets.  The pair played twice in 2012 with Wawrinka winning both matches.  Wawrinka struggled in Gstaad where he pulled out with an injury and I have a feeling Paire has a good chance at the upset.

Prediction - Paire to beat Wawrinka in 3 sets

3. Li Na v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Toronto, R2)

Li Na's first match back since Wimbledon could be a tough one as she goes up against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.  I am a strong advocate that Pavlyuchenkova is one of the cleanest ball strikers in the game, but serving woes, fitness issues and a lack of mental toughness have prevented her from reaching the full potential of her game.  She won her first match in style, beating a relatively unknown quantity in Canadian, Carol Zhao, 6-1 6-3.  The Russian player often struggles in matches she is supposed to win, but has generally, always been a threat to the top players.  Li will need to play well to win this match and something tells me it's going to be a scrappy affair...

Prediction - Li to beat Pavlyuchenkova in 3 lopsided sets

4. Ernests Gulbis v Fabio Fognini (Montreal, R2)

Fabio Fognini

If you have tickets for Montreal and want to see some drama, this is probably the match for you.  Ernests Gulbis didn't play his best tennis on Monday, but still managed to come through against Feliciano Lopez in straight sets.  His opponent in the second round, Fabio Fognini had a three set opener with Marcos Baghdatis as he rebounded strongly after losing a breadstick opening set to dish out two in the next two sets to post a 1-6 6-1 6-1 win.  Fognini went on a tear after Wimbledon winning his first two ATP titles in Hamburg and Stuttgart, and making the final in Umag.  In a stellar line-up, it will be interesting to see if he can get through Gulbis and maintain his recent stellar form against, potentially Andy Murray in round three.

Prediction - Fognini to beat Gulbis in 2 tight sets

Best of the rest: WTA Toronto 2nd Round Predictions

Serena Williams to beat Francesca Schiavone in 2 sets
Kirsten Flipkens to beat Kiki Bertens in 3 sets
Varvara Lepchenko to beat Magdalena Rybarikova in 3 sets

Marion Bartoli to beat Lauren Davis in 2 sets

Sloane Stephens to beat Mona Barthel in 3 sets

Maria Kirilenko to beat Alize Cornet in 3 sets

Sara Errani to beat Klara Zakopalova in 2 sets

Roberta Vinci to beat Ekaterina Makarova in 3 sets

Ana Ivanovic to beat Flavia Pennetta in 2 sets (1 tight, 1 easy)
Petra Kvitova to beat Eugenie Bouchard in 3 sets
Sam Stosur to beat Carla Suarez Navarro in 2 very tight sets
Jelena Jankovic to beat Sharon Fichman in 2 tight sets

Best of the rest: ATP Montreal 2nd Round Predictions

Denis Istomin to beat Filip Peliwo in 2 sets

Jerzy Janowicz to beat Frank Dancevic in 2 tight sets

Rafael Nadal to beat Jesse Levine in 2 sets
Tommy Haas to beat Marinko Matosevic in 2 tight sets
Tomas Berdych to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov in 3 sets
Vasek Pospisil to beat Radek Stepanek in 3 sets
Nikolay Davydenko to beat Pablo Andujar in 2 sets

David Ferrer to beat Alex Bogomolov Jr. in 2 sets

Juan Martin del Potro to beat Ivan Dodig in 3 sets
Mikhail Youzhny to beat Milos Raonic in 2 tiebreak sets
Andy Murray to beat Marcel Granollers in 3 sets