2013 YEC Preview and Predictions

It is time once again for the top 8 ladies in the world to collide for the YEC trophy. Year flies by doesnt it? This will be the last time it will be held in Istanbul as it is moving to Singapore next year. There are certainly great memories here and hopefully more to come and I have a great feeling about this tournament, so here we go. Red Group 1) Serena Williams- Coming off a victory here last year is once again considered the heavy favorite after another dominant year winning 2 grand slams which included the French Open and the US Open. Her H2H record doesnt lie either as she hasnt had any trouble with any of the competitors. 3) Aga Radwanksa- Slowly and steadily maintaining a high ranking throughout the year with titles scattered around here and there but coming up short in all the majors yet again. Not considered a major threat in this group because of the other two powerful ladies in this group. 5) Petra Kvitova aka GOATra (Sorry I had to)- The Czech lefty had a very up and down year with more downs than ups but a late charge in the Asian swing secured her place here. With her past success here and strengths to bully anybody off the court, and the fact shes an indoor GOAT, she can be considered the 2nd favorite behind Serena. 8) Angie Kerber- Lets face it, her and Errani wont do anything. Next. White Group 2) Victoria Azarenka- Had a pretty solid year for her standards, winning the Australian Open early on and some other premier tournaments. She gave Serena her toughest tests this year beating her at Doha and Cincinnati before falling in another US Open final. She had a really poor Asian Swing so thats the concerning part about how will she come out but I think shell be fine here. 4) Li Na- One of those players pretty similar to Kvitova where the weapons are there but the consistency and the mind are not always. She has a good chance to do damage but itll obviously depend on the matchup with Vika which should be a cracker. 6) Sara Errani- See Kerber 7) Jelena Jankovic- I dont know a lot about her honestly to tell you much, lets just say shes got a better chance than Kerber and Sara to advance but dont count on it unless Na struggles or Vika has more inconsistency.

Picks Red GroupSerena beats Kerber 6-3 6-2 Petra vs Aga- Of course I expect a competitive match here but really, I think Petra has to believe she can take this in straights. Playing the big guns there isnt a ton of room to keep going all P3tra on everyone. The key to this match will be if Petra can hold her ground and not let Aga take control of a set or hang around to force a 3 rd. Either way I think she wins. Pick- Petra 6-4 7-5 Serena beats Aga 6-3 6-4. Look this could be more competitive than the scoreline suggests but I cant see Serena dropping any sets this tournament to anyone not namedP3tra or Vika. Petra rolls over Kerber 6-2 6-4. Please Petra this HAS to be a 2 setter. I understand Tokyo because the fatigue probably came into play but a bagel cannot happen here. Indoors though I dont see any problems here. Aga beats Kerber 7-5 6-2. I know no 3 set drama so far but like I said, I cant see Kerber doing much against anyone, shell be flying home before you know it. Her best case scenario is my first set prediction and that might even be a stretch. World #1 Serena vs #1 Indoor GOAT Kvitty- This is where the drama will begin. We didnt get the highly anticipated Petra vs Vika but this will do. I expect this to be a very very good match if its anything like Doha and it could be even better than that. The only thing that would drop the level of this match is if they play each other last and are both 2-0 like I predicted. Both should make semis then and this wouldnt mean as much. But if someone has a loss or they play earlier, watch out this could be a truly epic match. Lets just say it means a ton. In that case Serena beats Petra 64 6-4. I think Petra will save her best for the final if she can make it. I still would love to see Petra win though no matter when it happens, because lets face it shes due. White Group Vika beats Errani 6-2 6-1 Na beats JJ 6-4 6-3- This could be a little closer but if Na is focused and ready shell be fine. Vika beats JJ 3-6 6-2 6-3- Look Vika still isnt in great form but due to level of other competitors no one besides Na should beat her. But I see JJ coming out hot and Vika sluggish to make this a little interesting. Na beats Errani 6-1 6-1 sorry but have you seen Errani play??

Vika vs Li Na- This probably wont be as dramatic as Serena Petra but its the two best in white group so I think it will be good. Hopefully Vika is all ready and Li Na is crushing shots because this matchup pretty much has to save this group from being irrelevant. Same as Red group, just hope it isnt a battle of 2 -0s. Pick- Na beats Vika 6-3 4-6 7-5 Semis Im still not entirely sure how they set up the semis but Im just saying I think itll be Petra vs Vika and Na vs Serena. Im sure tennis fans all over the world would take those all day long. Serena vs Li Na- You would think that these matchups would be close and pretty even. But they always seem to go Serenas way, not that this H2H is different from others. I mean Li Na has some great weapons but never can come up and win the big points just like in the US Open this year, it was over from the start pretty much. Lets just hope Na pushes this to 3 to make Serena work for something but this is probably where Serena will really turn it on so my pick Serena wins 6-4 6-4. Vika vs Petra (PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!!)- The world needs this. They really really do. These two havent met in 2 whole years, last time it was the great battle in this very arena where Petra clawed it out in 3 sets to lift the trophy for the first time. Its just astonishing they havent met in ages considering they both are near top, neither has had significant injuries keeping them out, and this year especially, being in the same quarter multiple times. Its hard to know what to expect in this matchup based on all of that. Times have certainly changed from 2011 obviously. Vika has stayed more consistent cant argue that. But Petra has always owned Vika and its easy to say now that none of the past matters but I have a feeling Petra is still in control of this H2H. Itll be fun, we need to see it. Pick- P3tra wins 6-7 6-3 6-3 SERENA VS KVITTY REMATCH- For all the marbles, if the first one turns out great, then I dont even know how to describe this one. Like I said I think Petra will put every last juice of energy into this match. I mean shell have 2 and a half months off to recover so anything less is inexcusable. There will be many many how did that go in?, can you believe that?, an amazing rally, shot, whatever phrases like that in this one. Sit back and enjoy folks is all I can say if we see this again.

Pick-

Petra Kvitova beats Serena Williams 4-6 7-5 7-

5
Ive always said Petra is the only one with the true firepower to give Serena fits. We saw it in Doha and Serena had major struggles handling the Kvitty power. Really nothing she could do on a lot of points. Petra has to have the confidence and she will no doubt. If shes gotten this far confidence will be sky high especially if the first meeting turns out well. So there you have it!! If you read it hope you enjoyed and really looking forward to this week of incredible action and if this is how it turned out, what a moment it would be. Lets hope for this again!!