Lurking in the Grass

Watch out Kuznetsova, Kateryna Bondarenko's comin' for ya! Yesterday at Tennis Talk, Anyone?, I picked out what I thought were going to be some intriguing matches. Today, I'm going to flag some matches for tomorrow that I think are upsets in the making. Some may sound far-fetched, others might really be quite conceivable. But hey, I'm a risk-taker, so why not go for it!


• Svetlana Kuznetsova (4) vs. Kateryna Bondarenko: Now, Kuznetsova has some grass-court prowess, having gotten to the quarters here a few times. But I'm going with form on this one: Bondarenko (pictured above) just won a title on grass, while Kuznetsova lost her only warm-up match on the green stuff. Bondarenko in three.

• Igor Andreev vs. David Ferrer (5): Ferrer's had a great run on the turf this year, but the buck stops here for him. I feel that if you can blast forehands on clay, like Andreev does, then they should really squirt through on the green stuff. Andreev in four.

• Samantha Stosur vs. Nicole Vaidisova (18): I almost feel guilty for flagging this one: Vaidisova can't buy a win and Sam just had a great run at a warm-up. Stosur has a shot to make it to at least the fourth round and the run starts in earnest here. Straights for the Aussie.

• Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Stanislas Wawrinka (13): Del Potro (pictured) is an example of that new breed of Argentinian player: The ones that can play well on fast surfaces and aren't just dirt-ballers, I feel. As far as Wawrinka goes, I'm still not convinced. He falls in four.

There's my upset specials. Would it be too crazy to say Marat Safin over Novak Djokovic? Don't worry, I'm not going to!

(Photos: Bondarenko: AP; Del Potro: Getty Images)