WTA Linz, Hong Kong and Taijin Previews, Predictions
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

After the final premier mandatory of the year in Beijing, four spots remain in the race for Singapore. As one of the last chances to score some major points, some of the world’s elite will take to the court this week to edge closer to the season ending finale.

WTA Linz

A whole host of former grand slam champions have lifted the title here. Two-time winners Lindsay Davenport, Ana Ivanovic and Jana Novotna, along with Justine Henin, Amélie Mauresmo, Mary Pierce, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka have won this event. Karolina Pliskova was champion last year.

The Generali Ladies Linz
Tier: International
Location: Linz, Austria
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $226, 750
Date: October 12th-18th 2015

The seeded players (Ranking)
1. Lucie Safarova
2. Caroline Wozniacki
3. Roberta Vinci
4. Andrea Petkovic
5. Anna Schmiedlova
6. Camila Giorgi
7. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
8. Barbora Strycova

First round matches to watch:

(2) Caroline Wozniacki vs Mirjana Lucic-Baroni
This will be a nice stylistic match with the big hitting Lucic Baroni looking to upset the second seed counter puncher, Wozniacki. This will be their first meeting so it is difficult to see where this can go.

If the Croatian can find her best tennis then I doubt Wozniacki will have enough to stop her. If not then the Dane’s defence will frustrate Lucic and cause an implosion.
Either way it is a match that could throw a potential spanner in the works.

(6) Camila Giorgi vs Julia Goerges
If there is one way to describe this match, it would be ball-bashing. These two big hitters look to play first strike tennis with reckless abandon and that can lead to a series of excellent winners of ridiculous unforced errors.

It will be entertaining and could go either way so we will wait and see which version of Giorgi and Goerges turns up. For those In the stands, I got one suggestion- DUCK!

Draw Analysis:

Safarova’s Section
Top seed, Lucie Safarova, is returning to action after a bacterial infection caused her to miss the Asian swing. The Czech will be looking to confirm her place amongst the Singapore field this week. Safarova opens against Andreea Mitu before meeting the winner of Magdalena Rybarikova vs Anna-Lena Friedsam. Round one should be easy enough, but her second match will be met with a degree of difficulty.

In her section is the sixth seed Giorgi. As mentioned above, the Italian has a difficult round one against former top 20 player, Goerges. The winner will face either Carina Witthoeft or Margarita Gasparyan. This will be an interesting battle between two young rising players. A wide opens section here with all four players having a fair shot at Safarova.

Petkovic’s Section
Andrea Petkovic is looking to finish inside the top 20 for a second straight season, but her current race ranking of 24 shows there is work to do. That is seemingly why she took a wildcard into this event. The German faces Johanna Larsson in round one then Lucie Hradecka or Alison Van-Uytvanck in the second round, both of which she would expect to win.

Anna Schmiedlova is looking to cap off her best season yet with another good run in Linz. The Slovakian is looking set to finish inside the world’s top 30 with an outside chance of a top 20 finish. Annika Beck, who is looking for a top 50 finish, will entertain the 21 year old in round one, followed by Misaki Doi or Madison Brengle.

Vinci’s Section
Roberta Vinci has backed up her US Open final run with a semi final in Wuhan and a third round in Beijing. Chances of Singapore look slim but the Italian will still look for a good end to a fantastic season. A qualifier in round one, then Mona Barthel likely for round two won’t be easy but you would expect an in form Vinci to get through this section.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s quarter final run in Beijing will fill the Russian with plenty of confidence heading into Linz. The seventh seed plays Katerina Siniakova in round one before meeting Tamira Paszek or a qualifier in round two. You would expect Pavlyuchenkova to make the quarter finals.

Wozniacki’s Section
Wozniacki’s chances of qualifying for Singapore look done, but an alternate spot might not be out of the question. The Dane has a tough test in Lucic-Baroni in the first round, the Varvara Lepchenko or Kirsten Flipkens in round two.
Barbora Strycova is still searching for her top 30 form of last season, but she will be expecting to reach the quarter finals here. Wildcard Barbara Haas will be her first round opponent with Denisa Allertova or a qualifier in round two.

Predictions
Quarter finals:
Safarova def. Goerges
Petkovic def. Schmiedlova
Vinci def. Pavlyuchenkova
Wozniacki def. Strycova

Semi Finals:
Petkovic def. Safarova
Wozniacki def. Vinci

Final:
Wozniacki def. Petkovic

WTA Hong Kong
2015 marks only the second edition of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, a tournament in which Sabine Lisicki was crowned the inaugural champion last year. The German won’t be back to defend her title due to injury. Garbine Muguruza was entered to play this tournament but also withdrew.

Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open
Tier: International
Location: Hong Kong
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $226, 750
Date: October 12th-18th 2015

The seeded players:
1. Garbine Muguruza (5)
2. Angelique Kerber (10)
3. Venus Williams (14)
4. Jelena Jankovic (24)
5. Sam Stosur (25)
6. Daria Gavrilova (35)
7. Caroline Garcia (39)
8. Alize Cornet (44)
Muguruza’s top seed position was replaced by Venus who in turn was replaced by Heather Watson.

First round matches to watch:

(2) Angelique Kerber vs Francesca Schiavone
Kerber will be a huge favourite over Schiavone here, but the Italian is a former grand slam champion. If she can roll back the years it could get interesting.
The 35 year old holds a 3-1 head to head advantage however, including a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing of the German in Antwerp this year. So there is proof she can cause an early upset.

(7) Caroline Garcia vs Lauren Davis
After a great start to the year, Garcia has ended up stagnating inside the top 40. The talented Frenchwoman will be looking to add some points this week before flying to Singapore, but she will first have to get past the tough Davis test.
The American is also young, but is ranked 82 in the world. Garcia should win, but as one of the more unpredictable players on tour, nothing is given. Davis won their only previous meeting in 2012.

Draw Analysis

Venus’ Quarter
Venus was bumped into Muguruza’s spot due to the Spaniard’s withdrawal, and will be one of the title favourites as she seeks a place in Singapore. The American will be one of the title favourites here along with Kerber, so this could be another big week after success in Wuhan. Venus plays a qualifier or lucky loser in round one, then likely compatriot Christina McHale in the second.

Alize Cornet was made a seed after a few withdrawals. The Frenchwoman has had her struggles this year and has seen her ranking fall outside the top 40. Cornet will face Kateryna Kozlova, who maybe familiar to a few people due to her doping suspension. Round two will be a big test if she can get through, with either Yaroslava Shvedova or Jarmila Gajdosova waiting in the wings.

Jankovic’s Quarter
Jelena Jankovic is another player to take a wildcard into the event as she attempts to have a strong finish to the season. The Serbian will face qualifier Ana Bogdan in round one, then will likely meet Anastasia Rodionova in round two.

Daria Gavrilova should defeat Kato Mayu in round one, though a meeting in round two against either Irina Falconi or Lara Arrurabarrena could prove tricky. Nonetheless, the Russian should make it through this section.

Stosur’s Quarter
Muguruza’s withdrawal and Venus’ new placement in the draw means that this section is void of a seed. Heather Watson therefore was moved to this section from the bottom quarter. The Brit has a good draw until the quarter finals, Kai-Lan Zhang then a qualifier in round two.

Stosur is therefore the only seed in this section. Risa Ozaki will meet the Aussie in round one with Monica Puig or Louisa Kumkhum in round two.

Kerber’s Quarter
Kerber is one of the players that has taken a wildcard in an attempt to secure Singapore qualification. The German is the title favourite here after Muguruza’s withdrawal. She faces Schiavone round one, then Ling Zhang or Kurumi Nara In the second round.

Garcia will be looking to add a second title to her collection on the week she turns 22. The Frenchwoman faces Davis in round one then Kai Chen Chang or a lucky loser in round two. Garcia should meet Kerber in the quarter finals which will be an interesting and entertaining match, but you never know with the seventh seed.

Predictions:
Quarter finals:
Venus def. Shvedova
Gavrilova def. Jankovic
Stosur def. Watson
Kerber def. Garcia

Semi Finals:
Venus def. Gavrilova
Kerber def. Stosur

Final:
Venus def. Kerber

Alison Riske (Photo: @Tennis_Shots)

WTA Tianjin
Much like Hong Kong, WTA Tianjin was established last year as part of the Asian Swing. The titlist last year was Alison Riske.

Tianjin Open
Tier: International
Location: Tianjin, China
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $426,750
Date: October 12th-18th 2015

The Seeded players (ranking):
1. Flavia Pennetta (7)
2. Agnieszka Radwanska (8)
3. Karolina Pliskova (9)
4. Elina Svitolina (18)
5. Kristina Mladenovic (28)
6. Teliana Pereira (52)
7. Alison Riske (60)
8. Saisai Zheng (65)

First round matches to watch:

(4) Elina Svitolina vs Elena Vesnina
Svitolina will be looking cement a top 20 finish with a good run here, but she has a tough round one against former top 20 player, Vesnina.

The Russian holds a 1-0 head to head lead over the Ukrainian (see, the conflict is entering the boundaries of sport) which came last year on the clay.
Svitolina is a much improved player since then however and should have the upper hand this time around.

(8) Teliana Pereira vs Nao Hibino
The Japanese woman is fresh off winning her first WTA title in Tashkent so it will be interesting to see how she responds against another player who won a maiden title this year, Pereira.

Hibino has form on her side and will be the favourite in many eyes, but this will be a close contest. It will be interesting to see how the 20 year old holds up.

Draw Analysis:
Flavia Pennetta is looking to cap off her career with a YEC berth, but there is still a lot of work to do despite winning the US Open. The Italian’s section has two qualifiers and Ying-Ying Duan so you would expect her to get through to the quarter finals with no issues.

Pereira is on the road to top 50 after an impressive year. She will look to further that bid this week against Nao Hibino who won her first WTA title prior to this event. Danka Kovinic and Kateryna Bondarenko complete this quarter.

Svitolina’s Quarter
Svitolina has become one of the tours most consistent players and is constantly on the rise. Her round one against Vesnina is difficult, but she should pull through. Bojana Jovanovski or Ons Jabeur await in round two.

Speaking of rising, that’s exactly what French number one Kristina Mladenovic has done this year. The fifth seed might fancy her chances at the title here and is on a collision course with fellow youngster Svitolina. First she must get through Fangzhou Liu and likely Urszula Radwanska.

Pliskova’s Quarter
Pliskova has been one of the success stories of 2015 after her Premier performances earned her a top 10 position. The Czech is still trying to keep her YEC hopes alive this week. Kristina Kucova will be her round one opponent, followed by either Magda Linette or the feisty Yulia Putintseva.

Defending champion Alison Riske is the only player who knows what it is like to go all the way here. The American will open her title defence against Xinyun Han, followed by Timea Babos most likely.

Radwanska’s Quarter
Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska is making all the effort to qualify for Singapore, playing a lot of tennis in the Asian swing. Her road to the quarter finals is simple, with Qiang Zang being the only direct acceptance in her section.

Saisai Zheng will be China’s best hope of a home winner. The 21 year old faces Evgeniya Rodina in the first round either Elizaveta Kulichkova or Patricia Tig in the second round. Rodina could be tough, but with the home crowd Zheng will be favourite.

Predictions:
Quarter finals:
Pennetta def. Hibino
Svitolina def. Mladenovic
Pliskova def. Riske
Radwanska def. Zheng

Semi Finals:
Svitolina def. Pennetta
Radwanska def. Pliskova

Final:
Radwanska def. Svitolina