Doha Draw Analysis – Is Safina A Sure Thing?

The draw aka Round Robin matchups for the WTA Season Finale in Doha is out.

The White Group Matches

[1] Dinara Safina (RUS) vs [4] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

[1] Dinara Safina (RUS) vs [6] Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

[1] Dinara Safina (RUS) vs [8] Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

[4] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs [6] Victoria Azarenka (BLR)

[4] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs [8] Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

[6] Victoria Azarenka (BLR) vs [8] Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

The Maroon Group Matches

[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs [3] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)

[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs [5] Elena Dementieva (RUS)

[2] Serena Williams (USA) vs [7] Venus Williams (USA)

[5] Elena Dementieva (RUS) vs [7] Venus Williams (USA)

[3] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) vs [5] Elena Dementieva (RUS)

[3] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) vs [7] Venus Williams (USA)

One could say top seed Dinara Safina has the “easier” draw as she has Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki both who have struggled with injuries in the last few weeks and Victoria Azarenka who, let’s face it, hasn’t played well in the last six months.

Kuznetsova is the darkhorse again as no one expects her to win and yet she plays best when there’s no expectations. All eyes will be on Serena to get through her tough section and finally meet Safina in the final to determine the top ranking. If Safina could somehow win the whole thing, it would certainly redeem her in the eyes of many.

So what will shake out? Well for the doubles, I see Serena and Venus winning. For the singles, you have to like Serena again but I still think Kuznetsova has a shot at the upset. What do you think?