Winning Wednesday: Venus, Keys and Wozniacki Headline Banner Day

There isn’t a better day than this one to sit back and watch tennis.

Wednesday is swelling with standout matches at the Volvo Car Open, as the tournament gets into full swing with second-round matches. That means the first outing of play for top eight seeds, including No. 1 Madison Keys, as well as former champions Venus Williams (2004) and Caroline Wozniacki (2011).

MORE: Full Wednesday Schedule | Ticket Options | A Chat with… Venus

Keys’ match is perhaps the most intriguing, as the 2015 runner-up here battles good friend and Charleston native Shelby Rogers after Rogers survived a three-set epic on Tuesday afternoon in front of a boisterous stadium crowd.

“I think she’s going to come out real excited to play,” Rogers said about Keys, who missed the first two months of the season. “She’s got a really powerful game. That’s going to be tough (for me), but hopefully we put on a good show.”

The show will be good all day long on Daniel Island, as Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig, Americans Ali Riske and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, former champion Andrea Petkovic, former finalist Elena Vesnina and doubles star Sania Mirza are all on the schedule.

See? We told you: This is the perfect tennis-watching day from up close in Charleston, or from wherever you’re watching in the world.

Here, we highlight five matches you won’t want to miss in a day complete with them:

[8] Anastasija Sevastova (LAT) vs. Andrea Petkovic (GER)
First match – 10am, Althea Gibson Club Court
It’s strange not to see Petkovic with a seed next to her name, but the 2014 winner here has had her ups and downs over the last year. She was on the up in her first round win on Monday, and takes on Sevastova, who is a crafty, tricky foe. Watch for plenty of spins and angles in this match.

[3] Venus Williams (USA) vs. Laura Siegemund (GER)
Third match, Volvo Car Stadium
Queen Vee is back! Has she ever really left? Not necessarily, and at 36 years young she has been playing inspiring tennis this year, making the Australian Open final, then the quarterfinals in Indian Wells and semifinals in Miami. Siegemund was a quarterfinalist here last year, so expect the two to engage in quite the battle.

[1] Madison Keys (USA) vs. Shelby Rogers (USA)
Fourth match, Volvo Car Stadium
Pass the popcorn, will you? Keys is the favorite here, having been a top 10 resident and Grand Slam semifinalist in the past. But the two have only played once – back in 2012 – and Rogers won that. Could we be in for a back-and-forth tussle?

[4] Lucie Hradecka/Katerina Siniakova (CZE) vs. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)/Andrea Petkovic (GER)
Fourth match, Court 3
There is nothing better than doubles in Charleston and there is no place better to watch it then on picturesque Court 3. This match features the seeded Czech team against two former singles winners in Jankovic and Petkovic, who are two of the most entertaining players in women’s tennis.

[5] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs. Annika Beck (GER)
Evening session – 7pm, Volvo Car Stadium
Wozniacki is the comeback kid in Charleston this year, the 2011 winner making a return to Daniel Island for the first time since 2013. She’ll have a tough test in Beck, a German who plays a steady all court game. And with Wednesday evening as the back drop? Simply picture perfect.