Elena Baltacha pulled of one of the biggest wins of her career by knocking out French Open champion and number 1 seed, Francesca Schiavone in Istanbul. Overall, its been a fantastic year for Baltacha who picked up her first win earlier this year over a top 10 player when she defeated Na Li at Indian Wells. This comfortable 6-4 6-2 win over Schiavone was her third victory over a top 10 player . Since winning the French Open, Schiavone has won only one match and it must be argued whether Schiavone still has the motivation to compete after winning an unlikely first grand slam. Baltacha will now play Andrea Petkovic in the next round. This week has also seen a resurgence by Elena Vesnina who had previously lost her last six matches. Straight set wins against Jovanovski and Voegele have put her in a great position to go far in this tournament on what is her best surface. She will be a big threat and i predict she will go on to reach the final. Sorana Cirstea has also had a good week knocking out the talented Johanna Larsson. Cirstea has spent the last few weeks in Las Vegas including a practice with her idol Steffi Graf, which appears to have given her a big boost this week. She will now face off against Pavlyuchenkova in what should be an enticing QF clash and one i think Cirstea could edge.
Petra Kvitova was once again knocked out in the 1st round and has been unable to back up her impressive SF performance at Wimbledon. Kvitova definitely has talent to succeed however it looks like consistency may her downfall. Jarka Groth will battle it out with defending champion, Vera Dushevina for a place in the SF in the final quarter. Groth has been one of the form players on tour with 4R showings at both the French Open and Wimbledon. I expect her to continue this form and knock out the defending champion.
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