Day 8 Predictions: Venus May Be Knocked Out of Orbit

Women's Fourth Round Singles:

Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Samantha Stosur (AUS)[13] -- This is a tricky matchup for Serena, who lost rather convincingly to Stosur in the quarterfinals Stanford last year.   Stosur hits the ball with an incredible amount of power, and combined it with an amount of kick and spin on both her serve and groundstrokes that no other female player has ever achieved.  So how does she ever lose? Because her mental toughness also tends to spin wildly.  Stosur has hardly been convincing so far, so I give Serena the nod.  Prediction: Serena in 2.

Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)[4] v. Li Na (CHN)[16] -- Wozniacki plays some of the best backboard tennis in the game today, which should be enough against the streaky Li.  If Li gets on fire, though, her best is better than Wozniacki's best.  But I don't think that will happen.  Prediction: Wozniacki in 2.

Francesca Schiavone (ITA)[17] v. Venus Williams (USA)[6] -- My upset special of the day.  Schiavone has been absolutely cruising, winning with ease over some quality opponents like Alize Cornet and Agnieszka Radwanska.  Venus, on the other hand, struggled mightily against the weaponless Casey Dellacqua.  On the bright side, the fourth round is further than Venus made it last year. Prediction: Schiavone in 2.

Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[9] v. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[7] -- A fan of meltdowns? Then this is the match for you! Azarenka should be able to get through this one by hitting through Zvonareva, who hasn't been the same since an injury during last year's green clay mini-season.   This one won't be easy, though--it's almost a law of nature that when these two hook up, drama will abound.  Prediction: Azarenka in 3.

Men's Fourth Round Singles:


Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)[22] -- If not for Federer's infallibility in the early and middle stages of slams, I would give Hewitt a real shot here.  But since Federer can't lose, I'll just make it a nailbiter.  Prediction: Federer in 5.

Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3] v. Lukasz Kubot (POL) -- What the hell is Lukasz Kubot doing in the fourth round of a slam? Calling Djokovic's draw thus far a joke would be putting it lightly.  Prediction: Djokovic in 3.

Fernando Verdasco (ESP)[9] v. Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)[6] -- This one should be a doozy.  As you've heard if you've listened to anything Mary Carillo has said all week, Davydenko has been hot.  Verdasco won't go down easy in his defense of last year's semifinal run, but he'll go down.  Prediction: Davydenko in 4.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)[10] v. Nicolas Almagro (ESP)[26] -- A pretty easy draw for Tsonga.  Almagro got a very nice draw on his way here, but his luck has run out.  Prediction: Tsonga in 3.