2014 Charleston - 3rd Round

Charleston is here and already Williams, Stephens and Keys have been knocked out... It doesn't look good for the Americans so far. Right now, the draw is now very bottom heavy, with only 3 seeds in the top half vs. 7 in the bottom, so I'm going to focus more on the bottom today.

[3] Sara Errani vs. Peng Shuai

I think this match has quite a lot of potential especially as Errani has not been able to make it deep into many tournaments at all this year, and it has really seemed to affect her results. Peng is not bad on clay either, making the Brussels final in 2011 and 2013. Currently their head to head sits at 3-2 and Peng did a good job in putting away a spirited Madison Keys in the second round, especially, especially after leading 6-1, 5-1. Whilst not desirable, Peng's game is made up of her going after short balls and defending really well, which won't be a problem against Errani, but her two handed forehand might not do so well against Errani's extreme topspin, which she really gets going on the clay.

Prediction: Peng Shuai

[4] Sabine Lisicki vs. [14] Andrea Petkovic

This is a really interesting matchup between the two Germans, both who haven't been playing as well as they would have liked but both are either coming back from injury or are injured. It is also interesting to note that they have never officially competed against each other, and that they will be coming into this match only with their personal knowledge if each other, rather than having any knowledge of each other match play. I think Lisicki is largely going to mistime her shots, especially considering her subpar match in comparison to Petkovic's double bagelling of Dominiguez Lino. 

Prediction: Andrea Petkovic

[6] Eugenie Bouchard vs. [11] Venus Williams

This is the battle between the up comer and the veteran, and I think that personally, whilst Bouchard is a solid player, Williams still has it in her to pick apart Bouchard's above-average game and fire winners from from both wings, considering that right now, Boucharf doesn't possess enough power to hit through top opponents, but is rather like Azarenka in the way she plays. All things considered, I think Williams currently possesses a more superior game and is able to pull herself out of tough situations by really 'pulling out her weapons,' so to speak. 

Prediction: Venus Williams