Barbora Strycova vs Tsvetana Pironkova (First Meeting)

I saw Strycova play at the New Haven Open last August; she pushed Petra Kvitova around a bit before Kvitova just blew her away. Neither has had good results on clay this year, however Strycova did have a big win against Eugenie Bouchard in her opening match at Madrid. Come to think of it, I’m not sure why I flagged this as an interesting match…

Sloane Stephens vs Venus Williams (First Meeting)

Remember back in 2013 Australian Open when Stephens beat Serena Williams in straight sets? She was thrust into the spotlight after, touted as one of the next great tennis players to come out of USA. Since then she’s been through multiple coaches (including Paul Annacone — this guy coached both Roger Federer and Pete Sampras) and has been on a slippery slope ever since. Stephens has posted some decent results this year, including a 3 set loss to Serena Williams in Indian Wells and QF appearance at Miami. But she’s playing against Venus Williams now, who has been playing her best tennis in quite some time. It’s been amazing to watch her the past year, seeing her fight through all the adversity that has come her way.

Allison Riske vs Sara Errani (Riske leads 1–0)

I saw Allison Riske at the New Haven Open as well, she gave Magdalena Rybarikova a good run for her money, but ultimately lost. She has the potential to give Sara Errani a lot of trouble. Sara Errani, of course, is an extremely good doubles player and a good singles player as well. Lately she’s been in kind of a slump, given the rise of some of the other relatively new top players (like Halep and Bouchard) and the fact that she and Roberta Vinci split up in doubles must be affecting her as well. But there is no doubt that she is a great clay court player, so don’t be surprised if she does well this tournament.

Karin Knapp vs Caroline Wozniacki (Wozniacki leads 2–0)

Should be good warm up for Wozniacki. Knapp has posted some decent results on clay this year. Of course, Wozniacki is consistently better, so I don’t give Knapp much of a chance. But given the Wizard of Woz’s quarter, this will be a great way to get her prepared for what’s to come.

Vavara Lepchenko vs Madison Keys (Lepchenko leads 1–0)

Madison Keys! Out of all the American players commentators have talked about, Keys has come out of nowhere to be the face of the next generation of American women’s tennis. She is the only one to have posted consistently good results over the past year and a half. She has tons of power and can back it up with lots of speed and ball control. Hope she brings her A-game!

Kristina Mladenovic vs Eugenie Bouchard (First Time)

This all depends on which Eugenie Bouchard is on the court. Remember last year when she showed up on the scene and owned everyone? Two major semifinals (Australian and French) one major final (Wimbledon) and a Round of 16 appearance (US Open). And now…2015 Bouchard sucks and sucks and sucks. WHAT HAPPENED?? Let’s hope 2014 Bouchard is in Paris; of all the women on tour, she seems to have the greatest potential (at age 21 she’s already made deep runs in several tournaments). Time for her harness it. Oh, and please shake Mladenovic’s hand at the end of the match!

The Second Half of the Draw