Wimbledon 2011, Day 8: Ladies' Singles Fourth Round Preview And Predictions

All sixteen fourth round Ladies' Singles matches are contested on the second Monday of Wimbledon 2011, with the winners right back in action on Tuesday for the quarterfinals.  Here's a look at how the final sixteen will shake out:

No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) vs. No. 24 Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) -- Second on Court No. 2 --  Looking for her first ever appearance in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, Caroline Wozniacki returns to Court No. 2, the site of her beatdown at this stage of Wimbledon 2010.  Despite being the much smaller of the two, Dominika Cibulkova is the far more aggressive, and should be able to take the upper hand in most every rally.  The same was even truer of Jarmila Gajdosova in the third round, though, and she was only able to take five games off the wall of Wozniacki.  Wozniacki lost to Cibulkova in Sydney in her first match of 2011, but beat her later that month at the Australian Open.  It could be a real exciting match if Cibulkova comes out hitting her shots, but Wozniacki has a crushing ability to make matches real unexciting real fast.  Prediction: Wozniacki in 2.

No. 20 Peng Shuai (China) vs. No. 5 Maria Sharapova (Russia) -- First on Court No. 2 -- With her consistency and angles, Peng Shuai is a tough opponnt for anyone, especially someone as risk-taking as Maria Sharapova.  Sharapova will need to keep the balls even closer to the lines than usual against Peng, whose reach is limited by her use of two hands on each side.  If Sharapova is misfiring (like she was in the fourth round of the Australian Open against Andrea Petkovic), Peng has a real chance to pull off an upset.  But if Sharapova is hitting the ball well, it will be over before it starts. Prediction: Sharapova in 2.

WC Sabine Lisicki (Germany) vs. Petra Cetkovska (Czech Republic) -- First on Court No. 12 -- Sabine Lisicki has become the darling of Wimbledon 2011, wowing with her 124 mph serving (4 mph faster than the second fastest women's serve of the tournament, by Serena Williams) during her upset of No. 3 Li Na.  But with her emphatic run to the title of Birmingham weeks back, her run was almost expected.  Petra Cetkovska's run to the second week of a slam, however, was unexpected.  Cetkovska, the current WTA No. 81, had not won a single grand slam match since making the fourth round of the French Open in 2008. Cetkovska ousted No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round and No. 18 Ana Ivanovic in the third, hitting some monster serves and controlling points effectively against the always aggressive Ivanovic. Impressive stuff, especially since Ivanovic had beaten Cetkovska 6-0, 6-0 at that aforementioned 2008 French Open.  If Lisicki has begun to buy her own hype and overlooks Cetkovska, she could be in trouble.  But I think Lisicki's game is too much bigger for that to happen.  Prediction: Lisicki in 3.

No. 9 Marion Bartoli (France) vs. No. 7 Serena Williams (United States) -- First on Court No. 1 --  The last time Serena Williams did not make the final at the All-England Club was back in 2007, when the eventual finalist from the half of the draw she occupied was Marion Bartoli, an unorthodox Frenchwoman who beat Justine Henin after Serena had been unable to.  Serena and Bartoli met at the next slam, the 2007 US Open, with Serena winning in straight sets.  Serena has been improving with each match during this tournament, looking just about as good as she did last year during her third round thrashing of No. 26 Maria Kirilenko. Bartoli has played down to her competition so far, but if she plays up to Serena's level this one could be a lot of fun.  Prediction. Williams in 3.

Tamira Paszek (Austria) vs. Ksenia Pervak (Russia) -- First on Court No. 14 -- In place of the previously scheduled No. 6 Francesca Schiavone vs. No. 11 Andrea Petkovic fourth round throwdown, two third round upsets have caused the unlikely second round encounter between Tamira Paszek and Ksenia Pervak (ranked No. 80 and No. 89, respectively).  Paszek is only twenty-one, but her two previous runs to the fourth round of a slam, at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2007 (beating such departed players as Tatiana Golovin, Elena Dementieva, and Patty Schnyder), feel like a generation ago.  Ksenia Pervak is only twenty, but has no previous experience making it this far into a big event, with an 0-4 record at her previous four grand slam appearances.  Pervak's the steadier of the two, and her aggressive style comes with left-handedness and consistency that Paszek's does not.  Prediction: Pervak in 2.

Nadia Petrova (Russia) vs. No. 4 Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) -- First on Court No. 3 -- The only seed remaining in the third quarter of the draw, this would seem to be a spectacular opportunity for Victoria Azarenka to make it to (at least) her first grand slam semifinal.  Nadia Petrova has quietly been very sharp in this tournament, though, and will make Vika work for this win.  Petrova has the long-term experience (having made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2005 and 2008), but Azarenka is far more familiar with what it's like to make it deep at tournaments during this decade.  Prediction: Azarenka in 2.

No. 8 Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) vs. No. 19 Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) -- Second on Court No. 12 -- If you like the snot knocked out of the ball on each and every shot, this is the match for you. Yanina Wickmayer hasn't made it to the quarterfinals of a slam since her breakout run to the semifinals of the 2009 US Open, a drought that I don't see ending here.  Petra Kvitova's suspect movement and big lefty shots are what grass court tennis is all about, and she should be able to outpower Wickmayer consistently enough to make it through to her second straight Wimbledon quarterfinal.  Prediction: Kvitova in 2.

No. 23 Venus Williams (United States) vs. No. 32 Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria) -- Second on Centre Court -- History repeating itself should seem expected, but when Tsvetana Pironkova knocked Venus Williams out of a grand slam for the second time by defeating her 6-2, 6-3 in the Wimbledon 2010 quarterfinals it was entirely shocking.  Pironkova hasn't done anything of note since winning that match until this tournament, at which she ruthlessly dispatched No. 2 Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-3 in the third round. is Because of the way the ranking system works, counting only the fifty-two most recent weeks, Pironkova will fall forty spots in the rankings (roughly to No. 72) if she loses this match.  Tough consequence for merely beating the No. 2 seed on your way to making the second week of slam.  If Venus has learned her lesson, she should be able to get through this one with relative ease.  But if Pironkova can take a set, I like her chances to pull off the upset yet again. Prediction: Williams in 2.