Main Draw Preview of the 2007 China Open

With five members of the top 20 participating in the main draw, the 2007 China Open in Beijing will be featuring an impressive field of Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players.

Newly crowned Fed Cup champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia is leading the draw, followed by Jelena Jankovic, Amelie Mauresmo, Elena Dementieva, and Martina Hingis.

World number one Justine Henin was originally expected to headline this year’s tournament, but she withdrew last week citing asthma and exhaustion.

Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova could not have asked for a better start to her Asian hardcourt season, as she is sure to be filled with momentum after Russia’s Fed Cup victory on Sunday. She played spectacular tennis in her first rubber on Saturday against Mara Santangelo, but was pushed to the limit on Sunday by Francesca Schiavone. Kuznetsova managed to save two match points and after overcoming a 1-4 deficit in the third set, pushed Russia to a remarkable third Fed Cup title in only four years.

She will have a few days to recover from her Fed Cup experience thanks to a first round bye, and could possibly face rising star Agnes Szavay in the quarterfinals. Szavay, fans will remember, fought her way into the quarterfinals of the US Open before her run was ended in straight sets by Kuznetsova.

Jelena Jankovic was the favorite to win last week’s Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali, but succumbed to a lethal combination of Bali distractions and a resurgent Lindsay Davenport.

Jankovic admitted that she was enjoying the off-court attractions of Indonesia after a tough US Open and was not physically or mentally prepared to battle a former world number one, although this was Davenport’s first singles tournament in a year. Jankovic also has a first round bye and will play her first match against Olga Poutchkova or doubles specialist Virginia Ruano Pascual.

Third seed Amelie Mauresmo will be returning to the Tour this week for the first time since playing Fed Cup after Wimbledon. Her ranking has since slipped down to No. 10, and she is currently at No. 17 on the Race to the Championships rankings.

A couple of solid wins in Beijing would give a huge boost to Mauresmo’s fledging confidence, especially as she looks to make a brand-new start in 2008. Her draw will be far from easy, especially with a potential meeting with fifth seed Martina Hingis looming in the quarterfinals.

Like Mauresmo, fourth seed Elena Dementieva has spent a significant part of 2007 on the injured list and has subsequently fallen out of the top 10. She will be making her career debut in Beijing, following a disheartening third round loss at the US Open. If the draw holds, Dementieva could face last week’s champion, Lindsay Davenport, in the quarterfinals. Elena has only managed to defeat Davenport five times in their previous fifteen meetings.

As a Tier II tournament, the China Open features a main draw of twenty-eight singles players and sixteen doubles teams competing for $600,000 dollars.

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