The WTA regular season concludes with two European indoor tournaments.  While the elite field in the year-end championships rests this week, nearly all of the players ranked between No. 11 and No. 25 have entered either the Premier event in Moscow or the International event in Luxembourg.  One last chance awaits them to end the 2013 season on a high note. 

Moscow: 

Top half:  Formerly a more significant tournament than it is now, the Kremlin Cup has suffered from its placement a week before the year-end championships.  No top-10 player will compete in Moscow this year, but local fans will welcome the sight of a Russian on the top line of the draw.  Third seed Maria Kirilenko moved there when Angelique Kerber withdrew, and the Moscow crowd may find its loyalties torn when she squares off with compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to open her campaign.  A former finalist at her home tournament, Kirilenko could collide with 2011 Moscow champion Dominika Cibulkova in the quarterfinals.  Before then, an all-Slovakian battle between Cibulkova and US Open quarterfinalist Daniela Hantuchova might mirror the all-Russian battle between Kirilenko and Pavlyuchenkova.  None of these women has caught fire in the second half to the extent that Simona Halep has, though.  Winning 26 of 28 matches at non-majors between June and October, Halep finally ran into adversity with early losses during the Asian swing.  She will look to snuff out the ongoing comeback hopes of Alisa Kleybanova, who started her week with a draining 191-minute triumph.

Bottom half:  In an odd twist, two of the tournament’s title favorites have landed in the same quarter.  Fellow major champions Ana Ivanovic and Samantha Stosur could collide earlier than either would wish, especially considering their strong form last week.  While Ivanovic reached the final in Linz, and mounted fierce resistance to Kerber there, Stosur won her second title of the year in Osaka by narrowly holding off Eugenie Bouchard.  But both women have struggled to follow up one successful week with another.  Former Moscow finalist Kaia Kanepi could derail a rematch of last year’s semifinal here, which Stosur won from Ivanovic in three sets.  Whoever survives that strong section could face another compelling test from Svetlana Kuznetsova in one of this year’s semifinals.  While the two-time major champion has struggled in the second half, two major quarterfinals this year proved that her talents have not vanished.  A possible preview of the Fed Cup final could pit her against second seed Roberta Vinci, a US Open quarterfinalist who can threaten on hard courts despite her preference for clay. 

Luxembourg:

Top half:  As rumors swirled about her relationship with Rory McIlroy, top seed Caroline Wozniacki will focus on ending her 2013 campaign with a meaningful result on which to build for 2014.  Choosing to play at this lesser event rather than defend her Moscow title, the world No. 9 might need to solve her personal kryptonite in the Luxembourg quarterfinals.  Bojana Jovanovski has defeated Wozniacki twice this year despite registering few other notable victories.  The Serb does not stand alone among the young players to watch in Luxembourg, for the WTA’s top-ranked teenager holds a seed there as well.  A finalist for the first time last week, Eugenie Bouchard faces an intriguing first-round test against Andrea Petkovic, who shone at this tournament last year.  The heavy serve of Sabine Lisicki could prove a devastating weapon on indoor hard courts, but Bouchard has produced more convincing tennis recently than that projected quarterfinal opponent.  One cannot say the same of two other nascent talents, Donna Vekic and Kristina Mladenovic, who might encounter the third-seeded Lisicki in the early rounds.

Bottom half:  Outstanding during the Asian swing, Lucie Safarova reached consecutive quarterfinals at the Premier Five tournament in Tokyo and the Premier Mandatory tournament in Beijing.  Those results have boosted her ranking inside the top 30 after an otherwise mediocre season.  Safarova will hope to extend her fall surge by besting Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens.  Seemingly burdened by that unexpected success during the second half, Flipkens showed some signs of life in similar surroundings at Linz last week.  Returning to Europe after months away from home may restore her spirits late in a long season.  Likely to face Safarova or Flipkens in a semifinal is Sloane Stephens, although the second seed remains inconsistent at non-majors.  Stephens could avenge a loss in Linz to Stefanie Voegele if she meets the Swiss player in the quarterfinals.  The underachieving Mona Barthel looks ripe for Voegele to topple, having lost four straight matches and failed to reach a quarterfinal since February.