2021 WTA Tour – Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic

Danielle Collins (7) (72/100) vs Shelby Rogers (11/10)

27-year-old American Danielle Collins has always marched by the beat of her own drum.  She defied the call to go professional at an early age, instead winning two NCAA Singles Titles in 2014 and 2016 (she only turned fully professional in mid-2016).  Her career thus far has proved equally enigmatic.  She showed her class with a semi-final run at the 2019 Aussie Open (augmented by a quarterfinal run at last year’s French Open).  But she has largely flattered to deceive on the tour proper.  But 2021 has proven to be both her most challenging and rewarding season thus far.  Shortly after the Miami Open, Collins discovered a tennis ball-sized cyst that required endometriosis surgery.  How she has managed to turn her season around is a testament to her grit and determination (no doubt fostered in the fierce collegiate arena).  She retired in the semi-finals of the Hungarian Open before claiming her first title in Palermo.  It was just like Collins to win her maiden title on clay (Collins has largely been a hardcourt specialist). 

Collins’ compatriot Shelby Rogers is on the opposite end of the form spectrum.  She was actually one of the hottest players on the tour in the immediate aftermath of the lockdown.  This was really exemplified by victory against Serena Williams at the Top Seed Open (she would go on to reach the semi-finals there).  She then beat Petra Kvitova en route to a quarterfinal run at the US Open.  She started 2021 in a similar vein, reaching the 2^nd week in Melbourne (which was wedged in between two quarterfinal appearances).  It really served to underline her status as a hardcourt player.  But the switch to Europe seemed to confound the South Carolinian, as she failed to win back-to-back matches in Europe until a decent 3^rd round run at Wimbledon.

Prediction:

I was quite surprised to see that the 44^th ranked Collins has yet to play the 42^nd ranked Rogers.  Neither one of these players was selected by the USTA to represent their Olympic team.  Collins spent that time claiming her maiden WTA title while Rogers had the chance to recharge her batteries.  Honestly, this one is hard to judge.  But I’m inclined to side with Rogers when you look at her excellent hardcourt form over the past year.  Rogers tends to thrive on North American hardcourts.

Yulia Putintseva (8) (23/20) vs Donna Vekic (67/100)

You had to feel for 26-year-old Yulia Putintseva in Tokyo.  The Kazakh world number 36 couldn’t even make it through her first-round match due to the sweltering weather conditions.  The three-time Major Quarterfinalist actually entered the Olympics in brilliant form after winning her 2^nd career title in Budapest.  But can we rightly expect her to continue that sort of form on hardcourts instead of clay?  Her performance at last year’s US Open suggests that she could.  She reached her maiden hardcourt quarterfinal at a Grand Slam, accounting for 15^th seed Petra Martic in the process.  She seems to be progressing as an all-court player and could prove a nuggety opponent this week. 

Quarterfinalist Donna Vekic has endured an injury ravaged season.  She started the year in decent fashion, reaching the 4^th round of the Australian Open for the first time.  But she had to undergo knee surgery shortly after the year’s first slam.  Vekic has looked pretty decent since returning from injury (without setting the world on fire).  She had a 4-3 season on grass before a feisty showing at the Olympics.  While she only made it to the 3^rd round, she did manage a remarkable three-set victory against 3^rd seed Aryna Sabalenka.  Vekic is one of those frustrating players who hasn’t realized her true potential.  Her big service game should see her competing more regularly on hardcourts.  Vekic will have decent memoires of her maiden San Jose campaign two years back.  She won three consecutive matches before falling to Sabalenka in the semi-final.

Prediction:

This will be the 6^th meeting between these two.  Vekic actually won their first four matches before Putintseva notched up a win in Brisbane last year.  I personally think that Vekic has the ammunition to win this match easily, especially if she gets that serve working.  Vekic to win in straight sets at 29/20.