Former world number one Serena Williams will launch her bid for a second season-ending Championships title on Wednesday.
Venus and Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva, Ana Ivanovic, Dinara Safina, and Vera Zvonareva are scheduled to compete on day two in Doha.
Aaress’ Picks for Day Two
Ana Ivanovic vs. Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva looked solid on Tuesday against Svetlana Kuznetsova, but the same thing could hardly be said of Ana Ivanovic. At first glance, it appears that summer slump Ivanovic traveled to Doha. She looked off balance, struggled to find her rhythm, and even suffered from a bout of dizziness late in the second set. However, fortunately for the French Open champion, round robins are not always lost by one defeat.
Ivanovic desperately needs to beat Zvonareva to keep from going 0-2 in the white group. This is a winnable match, especially if she can learn from her defeat on Tuesday and make the necessary game adjustments to compensate for the windy conditions.
Ana Ivanovic in 2 sets
Elena Dementieva vs. Venus Williams
Venus Williams holds a slight advantage over Dementieva because she tested her serve against the wind on Tuesday. Still, I would not expect that to make much of a difference.
Dementieva’s service toss is often all over the place—regardless of wind gusts. The Beijing Olympic gold medalist learned a long time ago to compensate for her shortcomings, so look for her to run down almost everything Venus Williams sends her way.
Venus Williams in 3 sets
Dinara Safina vs. Serena Williams
This will be the dinner (or breakfast or lunch, depending on your time zone) special on Wednesday. Safina blew a 5-2 lead over Serena’s older sister on Tuesday, something that she simply cannot do against a Grand Slam champion. She will have an opportunity to redeem herself, though, by playing a potentially rusty Serena Williams.
Serena disappeared after the US Open, only surfacing to play—and lose—one match in Stuttgart. We already know that the conditions in Doha are physically taxing and if Serena is lagging at all on Wednesday, watch for Safina to gain the upper hand.
Dinara Safina in 3 sets
More Doha Information:
Wednesday’s Start Time and Match Order of Play
Sony Ericsson Championships Main Draw
Television Listings for ESPN2 and Tennis Channel
Are you having a laugh, serena will beat safina, she will want to do well at these championships and she only plays the tournaments she wants to. she is awesome
Jim, good call. Serena did very well today.