Shahar Peer v Magdalena Rybarikova

This is the first meeting between these two which is somewhat surprising considering that both perform well on the hardcourt.

Neither player has any ongoing injury concerns and neither should be considered a worry in terms of retirement with Peer having retired twice this season but both times before the first set was over. Rybarikova has not retired all season.

Peer has been in fine form this Autumn, including a run of 12 consecutive wins that saw her collect two titles. Her ranking of 31 probably reflects more her Grand Slam performances rather than a true reflection of her abilities, which she seems to be rediscovering after a year or so of indifference. She drew Wozniacki in the 1st round of the Aus Open, was injured for the French, got Petrova in the 2nd round at Wimbledon and finally got Kuznetsova in the 3rd round at the US Open. In my opinion her true ranking is somewhere in the 10-15 range.

Rybarikova has done well this year and shocked quite a few with her maiden tour title in Birmingham. While she seems to be a late bloomer compared to modern standards I just feel that she has reached the level at which she will stay with maybe the odd foray into the top 30 ahead of her.

As a match up. Peer has to be fancied as the odds of 1.5-1.6 would suggest. Rybarikova lost 6-4 6-4 to Bartoli yesterday so is effectively out of the competition. Just need to watch out that she doesn't suddenly have an awesome serving day! Peer knows a win would see a shoot out with an injury carrying Bartoli for a place in the semi's,

Verdict: Peer win @ 1.54