Posted on 2/27/2008 11:29:06 PM

Barclay’s Dubai Tennis Championships Second Round Tennis Picks

By Nila Amerova

Dubai, UAE – Following the first day of action in Dubai, one Top 10 player ended her losing streak while the another’s woes continued as she crashed out of yet another opening match of a tournament. No.6 Ana Chakvetadze opened her Dubai campaign against the WTA tours hottest young players – the fast-rising Agnieska Radwanska of Poland. While Chakvetadze was pushed into a third set, she finally managed to close out the Polish teenager with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory. Meanwhile, Marion Bartoli the seventh seed in the tournament continued her rocky 2008 season with another first round exit, falling in three sets to an in-form Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-1.

Scheduled Play in Dubai begins at 5 AM Eastern Time.

Tennis Betting Line: Lucie Safarova vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova

Tennis Prediction: After posting some impressive victories early last season, namely over Amelie Mauresmo at the 2007 Australian Open and Svetlana Kuznetsova in Paris, Lucie Safarova’s performance began a slow decline, which in turn saw her ranking slip. Currently ranked No.40 Lucie Safarova meets Kuznetsova for a second time in her career, and after upsetting the then fifth seed in the quarterfinals of Paris, Safarova holds the 1-0 lead in head-to-heads.

Safarova brings a 2/2 record for the season, which includes a second round appearance in Sydney and back-to-back first round exits at the Australian Open and Doha last week. In this her fourth tournament of the season, Safarova arrives into the second round on the heels of a victory [LL] Ai Sugiyama. While Safarova is a talented player, her form is questionable, giving the favourite and second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova an added advantage.

Kuznetsova holds a 6-3 record for the season, which includes a runner-up finish in Sydney (l. to Justine Henin), R32 appearance at the 2008 Australian Open (l. to Agnieska Radwanska) and a R16 exit in Doha (l. to Sybille Bammer).

Tennis Free Picks: Kuznetsova in three sets

Tennis Betting Line: Sania Mirza vs. Jelena Jankovic

Tennis Prediction: There is no doubt that No.4 Jelena Jankovic will be the bookies short-odds-on favorite in this matchup and the bettors pick to advance. Jankovic brings an 8-3 record for the season and owns a 3-0 lead in head-to-heads over Sania Mirza. Jankovic arrived in Dubai on the heels of a quarterfinal appearance in Doha.

Tennis Free Picks: Jankovic in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Ana Chakvetadze vs. Dinara Safina

Tennis Prediction: Despite her higher ranking, No.6 Ana Chakvetadze trails 1-3 against No.15 Dinara Safina, earning the victory over her compatriot two years ago in Moscow. In fact, three of their total four career meetings were on home turf as they met in Moscow in 2004 and back-to-back in 2006-07. Clearly, Chakvetadze has not had a lot of success against Safina on home turf, so perhaps playing in Dubai will help the Top 10 elite player focus on winning. Chakvetadze broke ended her opening match losing streak today in Dubai with a three set victory over a tough competitor – Agnieska Radwanksa. (Chakvetadze crashed out of the first round in her two previous tournaments—Antwerp and Doha). With her confidence perhaps reinstated, she will try to extend her winning streak to two matches, something she has not done since winning the title in Paris earlier this month.

Chakvetadze brings an 8/4 record into the second round, which includes her first Sony Ericsson WTA title of the season and seventh overall career title. Safina on the other hand brings a 5-5 record into the second round. Her best performance was a quarterfinal run at the start of the season in Gold Coast, which she followed up with two consecutive first round exits: Sydney, Australian Open and a Fed Cup loss against Shahar Peer of Israel. In Doha last week, Safina found her footing and reached the R16, before losing to finalist Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

This all-Russian affair will be a tough contest as both players are struggling to be consistent in tournament performance. Safina leads in head-to-heads, but Chakvetadze is the better play. Chakvetadze has a better all-court game and as long as she remains focused, Safina’s notoriously temperamental nature and on-court antics should go a long way in handing the victory over to her compatriot.

Tennis Free Picks: Chakvetadze in straight sets

Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room.