Melanie Oudin v Aleksandra Wozniak

Both players are making their first appearance on the WTA tour since Wimbledon. And both will be putting themselves under heavy pressure to win their opening game on Monday. For Melanie Oudin, it’s a home crowd. For Aleksandra Wozniak, it’s the home of the only tournament she has won at senior level. That was two years ago. The odds suggest a close match. I am favouring the American to come through in this bout. Oudin performs well in front of her home crowd, and as she did in Charleston last year, defeated Wozniack in straight sets with a bagel.

Pick: Melanie Oudin

Alisa Kleybanova v Ana Ivanovic

Ana Ivanovic enters Stanford as a wildcard after her 2010 form has been anything but successful. But for runs in Brisbane and Rome, Ivanovic hasn’t made it past round 3 this year. She hasn’t made it past the second round in any of her last four tournaments, including a first round defeat to Shahar Peer at Wimbledon, her last event. Alisa Kleybanova’s form hasn’t been great either, but the Russian’s victory over the Serbian at the French Open this year showed us that she is a good match up for the former Roland Garros champion. Kleybanova dropped just 3 games that day and has won 3 of her 4 meetings with Ivanovic, including a 6-2 6-3 victory in their Fed Cup meeting in February. The odds for her to match it a hat trick tomorrow are both good and of value.

Pick: Alisa Kleybanova