Just like the men's preview, today there will be the preview of the favorites, dark horses, sleepers, and early exits on the women's side in this WTA Premier Mandatory event. Serena Williams is looking to make it three consecutive victories in Key Biscayne as well as an elusive eighth title. Maria Sharapova is hoping to capture her first ever title there in Key Biscayne and is the only title she is missing from the Premier Mandatories.
Favorite: Simona Halep: Coming off of her biggest title in Indian Wells, the Romanian is looking to stamp her authority as a household name in these events trying to sweep this swing of the Mandatories. Dealing with the loss of a loved one for Halep made it difficult for her to cop in the early rounds, but her strong mentality and all-around game makes her once again a favorite for the title. Serena Williams would be the favorite coming into this tournament having won this title in the last two years but with a nagging with knee injury, she may not even get into the final.
Sleeper: Agnieszka Radwanska: The "Ninja" never gets the love she does in hard court tournament due to her finesse style of play. Without the power serve or groundstrokes, she is always overlooked, but that what gives her the drive to thrive in these tournaments. She's been a quarterfinalists here for the last five years including a title in 2012. She has a nice looking draw with Begu possibly in the third round, and either Cornet or Suarez Navarro in the fourth round. Venus Williams is the only power player in her quarter meaning she has a great shot to get to the semis possibly against Sharapova or Makarova.
Sleeper: Garbine Muguruza: Unlike Radwanska's draw, the up and coming Spaniard hasn't been handed a fairly straightforward draw. A possible quarterfinals showdown with Serena Williams, and a possible semifinals match with Simona Halep isn't really friendly towards her, but she has the power and consistency to go toe-to-toe with each of them. Having taken Serena Williams to three sets Down Under and having beaten her at the French last year means she should know how to beat her. Also, being 2-0 against Simona Halep isn't a bad way to start your career off against one of the top players in the world.
Dark Horse: Julia Goerges: The German surprised us all with her fourth round run at the Australian Open. The former top twenty player has had the same story that most German women have had problems with their whole career, consistency. That fourth round appearance gave us the hope she can bounce back once again. Should be Cepelova in her opener, she would faceoff with countrywoman Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki had just gotten to the Indian Wells semifinals, but it remains to see if she can take that momentum and go deep in this tournament as well. A possible meeting with Ana Ivanovic looms, and Ana's game has not been at it's peak all year meaning she'll be vulnerable to be knocked out.
Dark Horse: Coco Vandeweghe: The American has had a steady rise up the rankings the last few years. For years, it's been known her serve was her best shot, but the downside to that was her low first serve percentage. A couple of adjustments on her service motion have given her the boost she needs to continue her rise. At just 23 years old, she's one of the under the radar Americans not getting much attention compared to Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens. The possibility of a second round match with Venus Williams will be the motivating factor for her to get there, and if that matchup happens, Vandeweghe could win depending on which Venus shows up that day.
Early Exit: Jelena Jankovic: A finalist at last weekend's Indian Wells Premier Mandatory could well see the Serb make a deep run in Key Biscayne as well given her fine run of form. However, she is as fiery and streaky as anyone on the tour. When things are not going her way, she'll look at her coaching box and give every single one of them an earful after each point. She held those emotions in check fairly well at IW, but with a new week, who knows what is going to happen. With Victoria Azarenka as a possible second round opponent, the chances that Jankovic can get by her without combusting a few times is pretty slim. Azarenka, former world numer one, has been playing much better tennis this year compared to her injury-plagued season last year. Needing points to climb up the rankings, Azarenka is going to give Jankovic a handful (and an earful if you know what we mean).
Early Exit: Sara Errani: This seems like the pick most people would make by just looking at the names of ranked payers, and if they knew what surface the tournament is played on. Errani is a clay-court specialist with the occasional rare result on hard court. She's a worse version of Radwanska because her serve is slower, her groundstrokes have less pop, and she doesn't have much variety with her shot selection. She awaits Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Vera Zvonareva in the second round. These two women can hit her off the court, and it also does not help that the Italian has made it past the third round once in only seven appearances at the Miami Open.