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Women's Singles

With almost half of the second round completed, there were few upsets worthy of note on the side of the seeded players. No.14 Francesca Schiavone, No.18 Marion Bartoli, and No.23 Ai Sugiyama were sent home at the hands of Lucie Safarová, Victoria Azarenka, and Anastasiya Yakimova, respectively.

Some of the favorites advanced as expected with No. 2 Amélie Mauresmo soundly defeating Olga Poutchkova 6-1, 6-2, and No.5 Nadia Petrova topping Gisela Dulko 6-1, 6-2. Fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced 6-2, 6-1 and former World Number One, Serena Williams, advanced 7-6 (4), 6-2 for the right to play Petrova in round three.

Other seeded women to win in the second round were: No.7 Elena Dementieva, No.10 Nicole Vaidisová, No.11 Jelena Jankovic, No. 16 Shahar Pe'er, No. 20 Tatiana Golovin, No. 21 Katarina Srebotnik, and No. 26 Maria Kirilenko. While the unseeded women to advance to the third round were Maria Elena Camerin of Italy and Czech Eva Birnerova.

Still to be decided are the following second round head-to-head match-ups:

Prediction: Since returning to the tour last year, Martina Hingis has been on an impressive comeback trail. Alla Kudryavtseva, ranked 134th in the world, will have to settle for a second-round appearance at the 2007 Australian Open. Hingis will deliver a two set victory.

Prediction: The clash of the Russian ladies will be interesting, as Sharapova comes to this match with her first-round scare weighing heavily on her shoulders. Considering this match will play in the morning, heat may be a factor yet again as it was in Sharapova’s opening match. However, if Sharapova plays at the level her No.1 seed would indicate, then she should be brisk with Rodionova and huff and puff her away in two sets!

Prediction: With a career-best performance a third-round appearance at the US Open in 2006, Kaia Kanepi arrives as the underdog against Australian Alicia Molik. This match could go either way. Alica has home-court advantage and appeared at the 2005 quarterfinals of the Australian Open. With crowd support Alicia decidedly is the favorite to win, but Kanepi could prove to be a surprise third-round contender. I give Kanepi the win in three sets.

Prediction: Inspired by brother Marat Safin’s spectacular feat in the second round, Dinara Safina should send Fedossova of France home relatively easily. I predict a close two-set match with Safina winning each set by a couple of games.

Prediction: Delicate Daniela Hantuchova, who looks like she should be modeling and not playing tennis, is one of the women on the tour that can surprise. Most memorable was her win over Serena Williams in the 2006 Australian Open in the third round. She is the favorite to win this head-to-head match-up and I predict she will do it in three sets.

Kim Clijsters (-8000) Akiko Morigami (+1600) 
Prediction: Ranked 86th in the world, Akiko Morigami of Japan hasn’t got a chance against Kim Clijsters. Look for Clijsters to replicate her first-round performance – a resounding victory in two sets.

Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room