Serena Williams wins her second WTA title in a row!

Earlier today, Serena Williams defeated Sam Stosur 6-4 6-2 to claim the Rogers Cup title. This win will almost guarantee that she will be seeded that the US Open. She also leads the US Open Series standings by 40 points. Read on for my match analysis.

Week In Review II

Throughout the week, we were treated to some great tennis. Because of that, I spent most of my time watching tennis instead of writing about it. That said, I'm still writing this recap of the week. Read on to see what happened this week and to see my thoughts on Serena Williams's comeback.

Stanford Preview

The Bank of the West Classic at Stanford is the first event of the US Open Series for the WTA. It is a premier event that will feature four members of the top ten as well as six more players in the top 32. Serena Williams will also be competing in Stanford. Last year at Stanford, Victoria Azarenka beat Maria Sharapova in the finals, 6-4 6-1. Will Azarenka be able to defend her championship and capture her third singles title of the year?

US Open Series Preview

The US Open Series is a series of five premier events for both genders. The WTA US Open series begins next week with Stanford and ends with New Haven. The two biggest events of the US Open Series are at Cincinnati and Toronto. Although the US Open Series is a great way to warm up for the US Open in late August, there is another bonus to doing well here- the top three finishers in the US Open series will win an extra million dollars in prize money if they win the US Open.

Bad Gastein Preview

There are two clay tournaments left in the year, and they are both international tournaments played on red clay. Neither tournament has a top ten player.

One of those two tournaments is at Bad Gastein in Austria. Not to be confused with Bastad, Bad Gastein is a skiing town near Salzburg. The top seed and favorite for the title is Julia Goerges. (Remember not to call her Georges or Gorgeous as you may not live to regret it- just ask Graeme Jones.) Goerges has really blossomed this year; she won Stuttgart beating French Open finalist Samantha Stosur and world number one Caroline Wozniacki along the way. She also achieved a career high world ranking of 16. She has a great flat serve and a great kick serve as well as a strong forehand. Her play style really suits the clay because she has very long strokes, and she has extra time to generate power off of both wings. It doesn't hurt her prospects that she's the defending champion here.

Other potential threats include Jarmila Gajdosova, the hard hitting Aussie and Lourdes Domingues Lino who won Bogota this year, another outdoor red clay event. Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez is another contender for the title as she is an excellent clay court player. She is excellent at net, and she won Rome in 2010. The top five seeds also include two players from the Czech Republic, Lucie Hradecka and Iveta Benesova, two very accomplished doubles players. Lucie Hradecka won the doubles title at Roland Garros 2011, and she has won 18 ITF singles titles. However, she has yet to make a dent in the WTA singles circuit. Iveta Benesova, another Czech lefty, has won two clay titles on the WTA tour. She hits quite flat off both sides. Although she's a good player, I see her going out early seeing as she is still celebrating her recent victory in mixed doubles at Wimbledon.

Stay tuned for my preview of Palermo, the other WTA tournament next week.