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Regardless of what Donna said about loving the sweet revenge, I think she is still very far from it. A win over Chirico that was full of ups and downs and inconsistency is not significant. Chiciro did make progress but that is still very far from WTA level. Donna opened the new season horribly, then made some progress but not enough to threaten Diyas. She is still prone to ups and downs, unforced errors and mental decline. On the other hand, Diyas opened the season quite well, proving she deserves to be seeded here. She is mentally powerful, persistent, git, and able to deliver her shots exactly as taught. She is currently a much better player, superior in the most important aspects - mental strength, persistence, and she's not prone to unforced errors. I think she should be able to win by at least 6 games. Details

For starters, Berlocq is in great shape and does best playing at home. He is one of the most reliable players and plays his heart out, especially at home. His results in Buenos Aires show how motivated he is and who well he's playing. Souza has come a long way, he is more aggressive, makes less mistakes and is stronger mentally, but still far from Berlocq. The slow surface does not suit his style and he is not as creative. Looking at the fresh results, Souza lost to Rola ta home, and Berlocq swept Rola. The Argentinians also tried very hard to slow down the surface as much as they could, which suits Berlocq perfectly as his movement, speed and fitness will shine in such conditions. In this format, this being DC, with these conditions and the fact Berlocq is playing at home, he should win by at least 8 games. Details

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Monaco is visibly improving with each new match, signs of which were there against de Bakker, and were fully confirmed against Ferrer and Mayer. He said he's been playing very well since Rio, and that he's satisfied and confident. Playing the Buenos Aires tournament is a special thing for him, and he will certainly do his best. Today he'll be facing Cuevas, who is in great form. He had some issues with the surface conditions at the start against Andreozzi and it took him a while to get up to his level, after that victory never came into question. Cuevas is a player who makes few mistakes and gives no gifts, getting stronger mentally and constantly proving he belongs at the top, especially on clay. Since Monaco is also improving in game terms and mentally, and is also highly motivated here, with the audience on his side too, I believe this will tip the scales in his favor. It will be tough to win against an opponent as stable and smart as Cuevas, but I believe it will happen in the end. Looking at the abilities of both players, Monaco can definitely give more. Details

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Staky started out the new season quite relaxed, but in the last couple of weeks he showed that he can play top tennis and make problems for any player. He played excellently in Rotterdam as well as Marseille. I would point out the win against Wawrinka and two tense matches against Raonic and Simon. The previous match on this tournament was enough for him to adapt to the conditions and continue his great self-confident games. Istomin started out his season well, he lost to people he, realistically, should have lost to, and beat who he should have beaten - except for the defeat against Coric, he could've avoided that. His last match, against Gulbis, despite the win, can't be taken into consideration because of the fact that Gulbis has long been very insecure; he can beat anyone, but also lose to opponents who are a lot worse than him. Considering the current state, according to which Staky is in a lot better shape, playing better and is more self-confident, I can conclude that he should win. I consider that the realistic odds for Staky are less for at least 0.2. Details

Diyas had had a great last year and the start of the new one is a good indicator as to how far she plans to go. She did Dubai very well last week, recording wins over Beck and Petkovic and losing to Makarova in a very close match. She outplayed Beck and played a nerve-wrecking match with Petkovic. Jabur is pretty consistent and as expected. She lost to Feuerstein, Konta, and Zvonareva and beat the players she was supposed to beat. Diyas is the superior player at the moment and should not have problems with Jabeur. She is more stable mentally, physically better prepared and creative when it comes to the game. Dyias is on a higher level and a much better player, which makes anything but her win here a surprise. Details

Given Azarenka's good results in Doha in the past and good start to the season at AO, she should be able to get far here. She'is keen to get back on her best level after the struggles with a foot injury. It seems she made the right choice with the new coach. Kerber is doing badly lately and given her performances, she should not get past the first round here. She is struggling with every segment of the game and cannot find rhythm. Results, form, and stability this season make Azarenka a much superior opponent. She is growing each day, while Kerber struggles. Details

It's obvious that when he's in the mood, Monfils is dangerous for any tennis player. He's quality is getting better from one match to the other, and he showed that against Bolelli. He served really well, he was dangerous on the return. Despite that, Bolelli wasn't at the same level as he was against Raonic. Mofils still showed a better game and thus won. Bautista is playing well as usual, without many oscillations; he beat Pospisil and Thiem at this tournament, and that was expected. In Rotterdam Monfils beat Bautista with three games of difference, and I'm sure he'll win again today with minimum that much difference because he's in better shape than he was then and his game is more serious. Monfils is currently the superior player who has a lot more possibilities than his opponent, and that's why I expect a convincing win. In case it heads into three sets, I think the handicap involved will also be covered. Details

Begu is doing great, Rogowska got only 4 games and Mattek only 6. Begu made only a few mistakes, being a level above Mattek and more than just one above Rogowska. Glushko beat Mita and Min. Min was expected to do better in that match. Begu and Glushko met only once so far and Begu won by losing only 4 games. The same should happen today. Begu is better in every segment of the game, she's mentally more stable, reliable, and make very little mistakes. On the other hand, Glushk is much worse quality-wise but is prone to bringing her level down in the course of a match. Begu is better in every segment and anything but a convincing win for Begu would be a great surprise for me. Details

Simone is currently filled with confidence, especially after beating Raonic. He serves well and generally plays well on his serve, and is rather aggressive and creative. Since he is a top level doubles player as well, the skills typical for doubles might tip the balance in close situations. He played a very solid and focused game against Raonic, staying mentally strong, which is extremely important for this match. Gael was not at his optimum in Rotterdam, but Berdych's incredibly good performance is a more important reason he lost. He did not plan to attend this tournament at first, in order to recover, but still accepted the invitation and beat Zverev and Kuznetsov. Since Bolelli is a much better player right now than the ones Monfils met here so far , I expect a close match. However, looking at both players, my intuition tells me that Simone should win today. Gael is prone to drastic ups and downs in his game as well as casual moves that could cost him the match. I believe Simone wins in two sets, but the handicap is a safer option. Details

Simon is finally playing at a high level and no longer showing his dissatisfaction during the match like he used to. At Rotterdam he showed he can beat the ones he should and lose to those superior to him at the time, which makes him reliable right now, mentally and game-wise. He beat Murray by maintaining the same level of performance, which worked since Murray played terribly, and he did not decline. Berdych beat him because he played really well, and Simon could not endanger him with his style. Borna started the year in line with expectations, losing to someone one would expect him to lose and winning matches he was expected to win. He is improving with each new match, but is still far from Simon's level as his opponent is in better shape and a better player right now, meaning he will win most long rallies. Since Borna is not as aggressive and strong in his shots, and they fly too short, I believe he will not be able to threaten Simon. If he goes into longer rallies Simon will outplay him, and playing aggressively would lead to more mistakes and not damaging the opponent's offense as much as he should. We should also not that Borna is more likely to have ups and downs than Simon here, which is an added bonus. Overall, due to the current game and abilities of both players, as well as home court advantage, I expect Simon to win by at least 3 breaks, which is enough to cover this handicap. Details

Venus proved that she's a top player when healthy and in high spirits. She opened the new season impressively and isn't lacking motivation for improving. The convincing wins over Ormachea and Irigoyen only prove she's stable even though she didn't even have to do her best. On the other hand, Belinda lacks consistency and experience. She fell short of expectations early in the season and the win over Knapp is no proof of readiness or quality. With Dubai being one of Venus' favorite tournaments and the fact she is the much better player, it's only logical that she would win by 7 or more games. Details

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Everyone is thrilled with Simon's performance and convincing win over Murray. But we need to point out that Murray did horribly. He was not aggressive at all, moved badly, and most of the time took shots to late. Simon played the match well, but that's all. It was not one of his best performances and he won because Murray did so badly. The match was definitely bad and nothing close to brilliance the reporters talked about afterwards. On the other hand, there Berdych whose attacking is top level at the moment. Monfils didn't play nearly as bad as Murray and Berdych still beat him easily. The Czech is simply better and given their previous matches, one could expect anther close duel since it seems Simon has Berdych figured out. But given their performances here, Berdych is just much better. Details

Nishikori did not seem fully engaged at Kooyong and Memphis, but he still won. Looking at his opponents, he can allow himself to start the matches casually and slowly increase the tempo as the tournament goes on. He is one of the title contenders and feels great here. Krajicek does very well on his serve and beat Karlović in his last match, though primarily through mental domination. He is training hard and is in great shape, as well as a lefty with a tricky serve and iritating backhand slice. Realistically speaking, Nishikori is superior in every segment here, except perhaps the serve, so he should win. However, Krajicek has a great serve, is in equally great form, and rather motivated, so I don't expect Nishikori to win decisively. Nishikori might up the tempo a bit today, but will still play just enough to win, and Krajicek's rush will serve to support him not losing by 6 or more games. Details

Berdych is on a 3-1 head-to-head record. Two of those wins were on hard-court, while he won once and lost once on clay. He won by 4 or more games in those three matches. Monfils is quite unpredictable and not at a very high level that is necessary against such an opponent. It's not clear as to how fit he is since he often complains about fatigue and had just had the flu. He beat Vasselin easily in the first round and then played a pretty close match with Vasellin in the second. He said he will take some time off after this tournament to recover completely. He's been saying that he's not 100% fit and that should allow problems-free Berdych to win easily. Berdych was dominant in the last match with Seppi, even though the outcome of the second set might lead us into a different conclusion. Berdych is in much better form, both regarding his game and fitness. Details

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Indy started off the season well, she passed the qualifications of this tournament showing security and concentration. On the other hand, Tsvetana is showing a lot of oscillations in her game, but they usually manifest against better tennis players, not against the likes of Indy. She did great the tournament in Sydney, and she lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Cibulkova. Recently she showed a great game against Azarenka, but she was insecure at key moments, which was to expect considering who her opponent was. Indy really surprised everyone in the qualifications, especially in the match against Siniakova; during the entire qualifications she was very calm, even when she lost, but today that shouldn't help her a lot. Tsvetana is better in each segment of the game, conditions suit her fully and she should win with six or more games of difference. She should win her serves with ease, and cause big problems on the return with deep balls and bigger creativity. In shorter exchanges she should dominate with the strength of her hit, and in the deeper ones with her stability and precision. Details

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