This year's BMW Malaysian Open has a quite decent line up with world number 10 Roberta Vinci aiming to win her 11th WTA title as she is the first seed. Elina Svitolina, Eugenie Bouchard, Annika Beck, Sabine Lisicki, Saisai Zheng, Su-Wei Hsieh and Nao Hibino are the rest of the seeded players that will try to stop the Italian number one. The draw gods were definitely not so kind to Vinci who has arguably a tough draw face, while dark horses Annika Beck and Su-Wei Hsieh pose a major threat in this 32-player draw.

First Quarter

Eugenie Bouchard during the Australian Open. Source: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Eugenie Bouchard during the Australian Open. Source: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The first quarter of the draw promises a fascinating quarterfinal clash between youth and experience and two Grand Slam finalists. Roberta Vinci took a top 20 Wildcard in the Main Draw, where she is the top seed. She opens up with Kai-Chen Chang from Chinese Taipei in a undoubtedly winnable match. In the second round, she is subjected to meet either Cagla Buyukackay in a repeat of their third round match in Doha last week or Laura Seigemund, the German who is having a great season so far with wins over Jelena Jankovic and Kristina Mladenovic. It will definitely be a tricky second round match up for the Italian, especially considering her fatigue after making the quarterfinals in Doha.

From the other side of this section, Eugenie Bouchard has a relatively easy path to the quarterfinals. She opens up with wildcard Ling Zhang and she is projected to meat in the second round, either Daniela Hantuchova or Kurumi Nara. With Hantuchova being in a huge slump lately and Nara having quite long to pick up form, it will be easy for Bouchard to make the quarterfinals if she finds a good level of play.

From this quarter, Bouchard seems to be the most powerful. Vinci may be tired after her run in Doha and the very physical quarterfinal match, bearing in mind that she is 33 years old as well. Bouchard will need a good run here to improve her ranking which has fell a lot after the Australian Open. The other players though do not seem able to trouble the seeds of a quarter, maybe Siegemund or Buyucackay will surprise Vinci but they may not be able to follow it up with a win over Bouchard.

Projected Quarterfinal: Roberta Vinci - Eugenie Bouchard

Quarterfinal Prediction: Bouchard d. Vinci

Second Quarter

Saisai Zheng during the Shenzhen Open. Source: Zhong Zhi/Getty Images
Saisai Zheng during the Shenzhen Open. Source: Zhong Zhi/Getty Images

This quarter features 2013 Wimbledon runner up and late wildcard, Sabine Lisicki and Doha quarterfinalist and Chinese number one Saisai Zheng. The dangerous floaters in this section are Naomi Broady and Klara Koukalova. Lisicki, seeded third, has an easy path to the quarterfinals but everything is questionable considering her current form since she came back from an injury in the end of last year. Beginning with Polish number two Magda Linette and bound to face Barbora Krejcikova or Yafan Wang in the second round, the German should have little trouble booking her place in the last eight if she can find her rhythm.

On the contrary, the Chinese number eighth seed is playing some of her best tennis lately seeming to have improved a lot her game style. She kicks off against a qualifier and next she has to pass the test of Naomi Broady or Klara Koukalova. However, her recent form implies that she will most likely get past any of them if she is at her best.

In a quarterfinal against Lisicki, Zheng's playing style will definitely not be her best advocate but she has worked on it a lot lately and if she can drag the errors from the German, who has not been at her best lately, she will most likely make the semifinals.

Projected Quarterfinal: Sabine Lisicki - Saisai Zheng

Quarterfinal Prediction: Zheng d. Lisicki

Third Quarter

Annika Beck during the Fed Cup and Germany's rubber against Switzerland. Source: Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images
Annika Beck during the Fed Cup and Germany's rubber against Switzerland. Source: Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images

The third quarter is headlined by Annika Beck, who has had an awesome start this year, and WTA Rising Star Nao Hibino. Both players have tricky openers with Hibino starting against the powerful Ying-Ying Duan and Beck against the flat-hitting Zarina Diyas. From a technical standpoint, Beck is in form lately so most likely won't have much trouble against a struggling Diyas, while Hibino has the patience to drag Duan from side-to-side and expose the Chinese woman's weak lateral movement, which can produce errors. Their probable second round matches are easy in comparison with their first test, with Qiang Wang being the only capable to cause an upset to Hibino. In a predicted clash between the top seeds of the quarter, Beck's form will most probably be the one to prevail over Hibino who is rather unpredictable.

Projected Quarterfinal: Annika Beck - Nao Hibino

Quarterfinal Prediction: Beck d. Hibino

Fourth Quarter

Su-Wei Hsieh during the Australian Open. Source: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Su-Wei Hsieh during the Australian Open. Source: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The last quarter of the draw has number two seed and recent Dubai semifinalist Elina Svitolina, who took a late wildcard into the event. and seventh seed Su-Wei Hsieh, the only former champion in the draw is looming. In addition, WTA Rising Star Elizaveta Kulichkova is undoubtedly one of the dark horses of this section and will be looking for another good result.

Svitolina made the Dubai semifinals but her tennis was not that convincing that week. If she faces Elisaveta Kulichkova in the second round as expected and the latter raises her level, a defeat for the world number 17 will not necessarily be that surprising. From the other side of the section, Hsieh has a hard first round with the really talented, yet inconsistent, Jana Cepelova. However, the Taiwanese is used to the court and has the craft to trouble the Slovak. In general, Hsieh's experience in the Malaysian courts is most likely to shine and get her through this quarter.

Projected Quarterfinal: Elina Svitolina - Su-Wei Hsieh

Prediction: Hsieh d. Svitolina

Final Stage Predictions

Semifinals:

Zheng d. Bouchard, as it happened in Doha.

Beck d. Hsieh -- Beck's consistency and great footwork will have no problem against Hsieh's craft.

Final: Beck d. Zheng

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About the author
Pan Mich
Just an enthusiastic WTA fan from Greece!