Tokyo Quarterfinals

So the rain has thrown a small wrench into the proceedings in Tokyo, with not all the third round matches finishing, which means by the time you see this post the semis will likely be concluded since I am on the other side of the globe from the tennis action.

It has been another one of those weeks on the WTA tour, which brings out the inconsistency of the tour especially when Serena and Sharapova are not involved.  Even steady Azarenka has gone, battling illness at a 7-time major champion.  Just four seeds made the quarterfinals, and only 3 of last year's quarterfinalists made it that far.  But I talked about opportunity in my preview post, and it presents itself here.

Here are the remaining eight women:
2) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
4) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
5) Angelique Kerber (GER)
7) Petra Kvitova (CZE)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
Lucie Safarova (CZE)
Venus Williams (USA)
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)

-The remaining quarterfinalists from 2012 are Radwanska, Woznaicki, and Kerber.  Serena, Sharapova, and Petrova did not play while Azarenka and Errani each lost their first match.
-Kerber has defended her semifinal points with a win over Radwanska.
-Kvitova and Kerber have yet to lose a set (through the semis).
-Bouchard continues to rise up the rankings and has now reached her first Tier I quarterfinal.  A decent next few weeks and she'll earn a seed at the Aussie Open.
-Kuznetsova made the quarters of the Aussie and French Opens as an unseeded player but has been injured or losing since, so it is good to see make a little run.
-It is also good to Venus back in some kind of form and she could push for this title.

Kvitova is the only player of the 4 I mentioned that I thought were fighting for two spots at the year end championships to have a decent tournament, while Errani is playing herself out of contention.  Of players ranked a little farther back, Wozniacki and Kerber have helped their cause immensely and they are back in the conversation, and the winner of the semifinal match up may grab the pole position over Jankovic, Stephens, and Vinci for the final spot.

I like Kvitova to take out Venus and I lean towards Kerber because I have no confidence it Wozniacki right now, and then Kvitova to take the final but I would really only be surprised if the Dane won this tournament.

The Americans, led by Venus' 4 wins, have gone 7-3 in the tournament so far.  Keys won two matches and Stephens, seeded 9th, won one before being upset by Bouchard.  Lepchenko lost her opening match to Japanese wildcard Doi to continue her slide.

Young Belinda Bencic, the winner of two junior majors this year, picked up a main draw win, albeit over a qualifier (Gavrilova).  Qualifiers Torro-Flor and Dellacqua had main draw victories.

Quarterfinal matches:
-Venus def. Bouchard
-Kvitova def. Kuznetsova
-Wozniacki def. Safarova
-Kerber def. Radwanska