Off to Cincinnati! Previewing the Women's Tournament

The Western and Southern Open, commonly referred to as Cincinnati, has always been one of my favorite non-Major tournaments of the tennis year. For most of the top players, it is their last chance to make an impression to the rest of the world heading into the year's last Major, the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. Heading into the 2011 Western and Southern Open, there is no bigger story than the one and only Serena Williams, who is coming into Cincinnati having won two tournaments in a row, Stanford and Toronto. Before we simply chalk Serena in as the Champion of the 2011 Western and Southern Open, let's look at the draw quarter-by-quarter.

Big Monday is Upon Us: The Second Best Day in Tennis

The two best days in tennis are by far are Super Saturday at the United States Open with the two men's semifinals and the women's final and Big Monday at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. On this day, all of the gentlemen's and ladies' 4th Round matches. 8 matches are played on the gentlemen's side, 8 on the ladies. It is a tennis fan's dream, with great matches taking place everywhere in the complex. After the jump, we'll look at four matches on each side to watch. We'll also have predictions at the end of the article.

Previewing the 3rd Round: Matches to Watch

The second round of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships was much more exciting than expected, and a few matches are left to be decided. However, with the third round beginning tomorrow, here are three matches on both the ladies and gentlemen's sides that are very much worth watching.

They're Back! The Williams Sisters Return to Wimbledon: Looking at the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Draw

The 2011 Championships start on Monday, and all eyes on the Ladies' side will be focused on Serena and Venus Williams. Combined winners of 9 of the last 11 Championships played, they by far have the most pedigree of any women's player on tour by a large margin. However, big questions are lingering over them entering this tournament. Serena is playing her second tournament since winning last year, and the first one was last week in Eastbourne, where she lost to last year's finalist Vera Zvonareva in a tight 3 set match in which she was serving for the match in the second set. Venus is only playing her second tournament since she had to withdraw from the third round of the 2011 Australian Open. Their history tells us a run is possible, but their lack of match play due to injury suggests they will have to struggle to make it through this tournament. Either way, they will command all of the attention on the ladies' side, and this overshadows the fact that this is a wide open draw. As many as 8 ladies have a legitimate shot at winning, and, in direct comparison to 2011 Roland Garros, no one is talking about the world's number one, Caroline Wozniacki. After the jump, we'll have the full preview of the draw, quarter by quarter.