Australian Open Women's Qualies Predictions

"@DailyForehand bravely predicted the 16 qualifiers at http://bit.ly/7stFgL - 10 went out in QR1! They'll need to sharpen up b4 BOTB!" -botb1, via Twitter.

With that illustrious performance before us, here are our much awaited predictions for the women's side of things:

(Also be sure to check out Jamie's predictions and thoughts on the same event.)

2010 Australian Open Women's Singles Qualifying Draw:

Yanina Wickmayer BEL (1) v Yurika Sema JPN
Alexandra Panova RUS v Naomi Cavaday GBR
Marija Mirkovic AUS v Arina Rodionova RUS
Eva Hrdinova CZE v Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP (22)

My Pick: Yanina Wickmayer BEL (1) Considering she just won Auckland and is in the top 20, it's hard to see Wickmayer losing here.  But if she does, watch out for lots of whining.

Regina Kulikova RUS (2) v Lindsay Lee-Waters USA
Ksenia Palkina KGZ v Ryoko Fuda JPN
Lenka Wienerova SVK v Kurumi Nara JPN
Aniko Kapros HUN v Ksenia Pervak RUS (17)

My Pick: Ksenia Pervak RUS (17) Two Ksenias in one section is almost too much to dream of! I'm going with Pervak in this one, though I'm guessing Palkina will win a couple matches as well.

Shenay Perry USA (3) v Melanie South GBR
Ivana Lisjak CRO v Elena Chalova RUS
Misaki Doi JPN v Carly Gullickson USA
Shannon Golds AUS v Vesna Manasieva RUS (20)

My Pick: Shenay Perry USA (3) Shenay Perry has been off the radar for quite a while with injury, but if she's back to full strength she's good enough to be somewhere around the 50-60 range.  Hopefully she can start off a big 2010 in Melbourne.

Michelle Larcher De Brito POR (4)v Ekaterina Dzehalevich BLR
Jessica Moore AUS v Xinyun Han CHN
Margalita Chakhnashvili GEO v Oksana Kalashnikova GEO
Anastasia Pivovarova RUS v Chanelle Scheepers RSA (16)

My pick: Anastasia Pivovarova RUS A deceptively starstudded section.  de Brito is loud and obnoxious, so I can't pick her in good conscious.  I'll go with Pivovarova, because it takes three W's to get into the main draw, and she's got three V's.

Maria Elena Camerin ITA (5) v Zuzana Ondraskova CZE
Anna Lapushchenkova RUS v Heidi El Tabakh CAN
Nuria Llagostera Vives ESPv Madison Brengle USA
Viktorija Rajicic AUS v Renata Voracova CZE (14)

My pick: Maria Elena Camerin ITA (5) A horrible draw for my girl Zuzana Ondraskova.  Camerin is a real capable fast court player, and not making it through here would be no good.  In other news, sad to see so little progress for Brengle.

Arantxa Rus NED (6) v Kristina Antoniychuk UKR
Anna Floris ITA v Ashling Sumner AUS
Eloisa Compostizo De Andres ESP v Katalin Marosi HUN
Sofia Arvidsson SWE v Marta Domachowska POL (24)

My pick: Sofia Arvidsson SWE  Arantxa Rus really should make it through on talent here, but that's never been enough for her before at the WTA level.  Arvidsson's my pick.

Angelique Kerber GER (7) v Rebecca Marino CAN
Alexandra Stevenson USA v Andrea Hlavackova CZE
Laura Robson GBR v Sophie Ferguson AUS
Claire Feuerstein FRA v Michaella Krajicek NED (18)

My Pick: Laura Robson GBR After her solid doubles play and one nice singles match in Perth during Hopman Cup, how could I not pick Laura Robson?  Krajicek has the power to hit through Robson, but Laura's consistency should get her in.

Yvonne Meusburger AUT (8) v Julia Cohen USA
Neuza Silva POR v Eleni Daniilidou GRE
Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA v Julia Vakulenko UKR
Severine Beltrame FRA v Sharon Fichman CAN (13)

My Pick: Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA Mattek-Sands has been playing a real light schedule ever since she got married.  If she's at all sharp, she should cruise through this surprisingly tough section.  Daniilidou, Vakulenko, Beltrame, and Mattek-Sands have all made it to the second week of a slam, and they're not even the seeds.

Mariya Koryttseva UKR (9)v Olga Savchuk UKR
Yuliana Fedak UKR v Silvia Soler Espinosa ESP
Corinna Dentoni ITA v Yulia Fedossova FRA
Kristina Mladenovic FRA v Mathilde Johansson FRA (15)

My Pick: Olga Savchuk UKR Mathilde Johansson should make it on talent, and Mariya Koryttseva should make it on consistency, so of course neither will.  Savchuk is my horse in this race.

Darya Kustova BLR (10)v Zuzana Kucova SVK
Nina Bratchikova RUS v Tomoko Yonemura JPN
Elena Bovina RUS v Sally Peers AUS
Shuai Zhang CHN v Julia Schruff GER (19)

My Pick: Zuzana Kucova SVK Zuzana the Lesser, as she's affectionately known around these parts, has really picked up her play in the challengers lately.  It's about time for her to make it to the next level.

Masa Zec Peskiric SLO (11) v Rika Fujiwara JPN
Junri Namigata JPN v Ekaterina Ivanova RUS
Nikola Hofmanova AUT v Monique Adamczak AUS
Camille Pin FRA v Valerie Tetreault CAN (21)

My Pick: Camille Pin FRA Pin's comeback has been slow, but she's had great success in Australia before.  Or at least she's come close, especially in that first round epic in 2007 vs. Sharapova.  She's got a fun game, so hopefully she can find a hot streak in the friendly confines of Melbourne Park.

Kathrin Woerle GER (12) v Anna Tatishvili GEO
Stephanie Foretz FRA v Simona Halep ROU
Monika Wejnert AUS v Bojana Jovanovski SRB
Lauren Albanese USA v Lilia Osterloh USA (23)


My Pick: Simona Halep ROU Simona Halep has a real nice junior career behind her, and a real nice, erm, future in front of her.  She's better on clay, but I'd like to watch her do well in the Australian summer first.