WTA Coupe Rogers 2014 Betting: Back Stephens to find consistency and march on

Stephens with her eyes on the prize

Following on from the shocks on Day 2 at the Coupe Rogers 2014, Abelson Info take a closer look at the remaining second round encounters...

Tournament favourite Serena Williams is in action on Wednesday and she has a difficult match first up against Australian veteran Sam Stosur.

While the world number one is unsurprisingly considered the favourite, Stosur has a respectable head-to-head record against the American unlike many of the other top seeds.

However, we don't envisage her being capable of pulling off an upset this time round despite her dominant display against Monica Puig last time out, although much depends on whether or not Williams displays any signs of fatigue after winning in Stanford last week.

Meanwhile, things could be a little more complicated for Maria Sharapova as she prepares to face Garbine Muguruza. The Spaniard is another rising star on the WTA tour, and has demonstrated her ability on some big stages over the past few months.

Whether or not she has what it takes to put a dent in Sharapova's preparations for the US Open remains to be seen, but this is unlikely to be a walk in the park for the Russian.

In addition, the second round draw is packed with intriguing match-ups, namely Jelena Jankovic against Sloane Stephens which is an indication of just how competitive this field is given that these two stars are facing one another so early.

Stephens was comfortable in her victory over Aleksandra Wozniak in the opening round, and having pushed Jankovic hard on this same surface last year in Cincinnati, she will hope that her game has developed enough to be equally competitive against the world number nine.

Despite some poor form leading up to this tournament, back Stephens to extend her run in Montreal at the expense of her Serbian rival.

Elsewhere, Sabine Lisicki will also be looking for some consistency ahead of her second round clash with Madison Keys, and after the German dispatched of Sara Errani in straight sets in her first outing in the tournament, there is value in backing her to produce a repeat performance.

Keys is better suited to this surface and will put up more resistance, but if Lisicki is firing and can get her serve going, then we expect the German to come through.

Also in action on Wednesday is British hopeful Heather Watson, but the diminutive 22-year-old faces a real uphill battle when she faces world number 12 Dominika Cibulkova.

As the tour switched to clay and grass, the Slovakian began to drop off the radar slightly over the course of the last few months, but she may well welcome the return to this surface and will hope to get back to something close to her best.

Cibulkova defeated Watson in Brisbane earlier this year, and unfortunately for the latter, history could repeat itself in Montreal.

Recommended Bets:
Back Lisicki to beat Keys 2-0 @ 2.245/4
Back Stephens to beat Jankovic @ 2.226/5