Feature Article

Preview: Mondial Australian Women’s Hardcourts

Posted by Aaress Lawless on Dec 30, 2006 | Print | Email | Bookmark | Free Subscription

December 31-January 6, 2007
Tier III
Gold Coast, Australia
2006 Results: Lucie Safarova d. (4) Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-4

The Mondial Australian Women’s Hardcourts is kicking off the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s 2007 tennis season in Gold Coast, Australia. This year’s event is headlined by Martina Hingis, who is returning to the site of her 2006 comeback after three years in retirement, along with Dinara Safina, US Open Series champion Ana Ivanovic, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, and Shahar Peer. Defending champion Lucie Safarova is not attempting to defend her title and is competing at the Hopman Cup exhibition in Perth with her boyfriend Tomas Berdych.

Hosted at the beautiful Gold Pines Resort, the tournament has a talented field of thirty-two main draw players and sixteen doubles teams competing for $175,000 dollars in prize money.

Seeded Players

1. Martina Hingis
2. Dinara Safina
3. Ana Ivanovic
4. Anna-Lena Groenefeld
5. Shahar Peer
6. Na Li
7. Katarina Srebotnik
8. Ai Sugiyama

A Quick Look at the Draw

Top Quarter
A lot has changed since the Swiss Miss - soon to be Mrs. - appeared in Australia this time last year. Instead of receiving a wildcard berth because of a ranking of No. 9999, Martina Hingis is back as the No. 1 seed, with a ranking of No. 7 in the world. Her recent engagement to ATP pro Radek Stepanek may have taken up her thoughts and attention during the off-season, but Martina has said that her focus right now is on her tennis and she has no intention of letting her upcoming marriage affect her game. Na Li was favored to win the gold medal at the Asian Games in Doha earlier this month, but she was halted in the semis by Sania Mirza. You can expect China’s No. 1 to have put that loss behind her and if the seedings hold, be ready to give Hingis a tough power match later on next week in the quarterfinals.

Second Quarter
Anna-Lena Groenefeld may be heading into Gold Coast as the fourth seed, but the last few months of the 2006 season were a disaster for Germany’s top star. If Groenefeld has not managed to shake herself out of her slump, she may find herself exiting the tournament early at the hands of either Iveta Benesova or France’s veteran Severine Bremond. Katarina Srebotnik is holding up the bottom of the second half of the draw and will open against a qualifier.

Third Quarter
Ana Ivanovic had been getting almost as much media hype as Martina Hingis before the start of the tournament, but that lasted only until Hingis announced her engagement. Now, with the knowledge that she dealt Hingis’ confidence - not to mention her pride - a serious blow in their last meeting at Montreal, Ivanovic would love to set up another final battle against Hingis at Gold Coast. Her road will not be easy, as Meghann Shaughnessy and especially Shahar Peer will also be gunning for a spot in the semifinals.

Bottom Quarter
Dinara Safina cracked the top ten for the first time in her career just three months ago, but her stay was extremely short-lived thanks to Nicole Vaidisova. A strong showing here may be good enough for her not only to reclaim her spot and oust Vaidisova, but also put her in a good position for a top seeding at the Australian Open. She probably has the toughest draw out of all the top seeds, with a first round match against her experienced countrywoman Elena Likhovsteva and then potential meetings against Samantha Stosur, Maria Kirilenko, or Flavia Pennetta.