WTA Montreal - Kim, Vera set for rematch

Kim Clijsters eased into the Montreal QF where she will face a rematch against Vera Zvonareva. Zvonareva defeated Clijsters in the Wimbledon QF and Kim will be looking for revenge in what should be a high quality QF. Clijsters was comfortable in victory over a lacklustre Kaia Kanepi, 6-1 6-2 however Kim was not tested here and there are still issues with her serve that need to be addressed before the US Open. Vera Zvonareva has eased her way through the draw and produced a commanding performance to halt Agnes Szavays 11 match winning run, which included an impressive win over Yanina Wickmayer in the last round. Clijsters against Zvonareva should be a competitive affair but i expect a different outcome this time with Clijsters prevailing in 3 sets.

Another rematch will also take place as Caroline Wozniacki will take on Francesca Schiavone in the Montreal QF, a repeat of the French Open QF earlier this year. Wozniacki produced her best result of late coming from a set down to beat an in-form Flavia Pennetta and continue her winning record over her. Schiavone managed to down Dinara Safina who held off 15 aces from Nadia Petrova in the previous round. This is the first time since the French Open that Schiavone has won back-back to matches however i expect Wozniacki to triumph in their QF with Caroline on her preferred surface of hard courts.

In other news, Marion Bartoli thumped Iveta Benesova, 6-0 6-1 to set up another showdown with Victoria Azarenka who was equally impressive with a straight set win over the tenacious Na Li. In the final QF, Svetlana Kuznetsova will take on Jie Zheng after both players pulled off upsets. Zheng defeated reigning champion Elena Dementieva in a tight two set match with Zheng's solid groundstrokes having too much for Elena. Dementieva was showing off a remodelled serve this week however she still does not look ready to contest for the upcoming US. Kuznetsova defeated Radwanska for the second time in 2 weeks coming through in another 3 set battle. Kuznetsova despite some ups and downs, has really turned her game around of late and will go into the US Open as a dark horse ready and lurking to upset some of the top seeds.