Predicted Winners in BOLD

WILLIAMS Serena vs. GAVRILOVA Daria – The surface is slow and Serena is facing a fast young player.  That could cause some problems.  I think Venus’ loss will have Serena even more focused for this match as well as her doubles match with Venus today.  So long as Serena doesn’t drown in unforced errors she should win.

MUGURUZA Garbine vs. JANKOVIC Jelena – Is the Roland Garros champion past her post-major hangover?  If so, this slow court should be ideal for her.  She can hit through a slow court and can tee-off on high bounces.  JJ can use the slow court to play solid defensive tennis, but  JJ struggles at producing offense.  In a sense, the slow court hurts the more defensive oriented player in this particular case.  If Muguruza is still in a haze after winning Roland Garros, JJ could very well win this match.

DUQUE-MARINO Mariana vs. KERBER Angelique – Kerber played well in Montreal and should be ready to take this match.

GARCIA Caroline vs. PEREIRA Teliana

KVITOVA Petra vs. BABOS Timea – Petra should benefit from the cooler weather in Brazil this time of year.  Also, Petra can hit through high bounces and slow courts.

STOSUR Samantha vs. OSTAPENKO Jelena – Stosur’s solid play in Paris makes me think this slow court might be to her liking.  Still, Stosur has not been able to play consistently at a level in which I think she is favored vs. Ostapenko.

WOZNIACKI Caroline vs. HRADECKA Lucie – Wozniacki has to win a first round at a big event sometime, right?

VOGT Stephanie vs. KONTA Johanna – Konta is one of the bigger stories of the past 52 weeks.

KUZNETSOVA Svetlana vs. WANG Qiang – Can Kuzy grab a medal?

HIBINO Nao vs. BEGU Irina-Camelia

LARSSON Johanna vs. CORNET Alize – Is anyone ready for a Serena Williams vs. Alize Cornet second round tilt?

PUIG Monica vs. HERCOG Polona – I tend to pick Puig when I shouldn’t.  Why stop now?