World No. 1 Justine Henin leads the top section of the women’s draw at the 2008 Australian Open, and is in the same half as Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Amelie Mauresmo, and Lindsay Davenport.
Should Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport both win their first round matches, they will meet in the second round of the tournament.
Because Serena Williams and Venus Williams are on opposite sides of the draw, an all-Williams final is a possibility for the Grand Slam championship match.
Projected Paths of Title Contenders
Justine Henin (1)
First Round: Aiko Nakamura
Justine Henin won’t have an easy road to her eight Grand Slam title. She narrowly avoided an early round confrontation with former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, but could instead face the American in the quarterfinals, or two-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (2)
First Round: Nathalie Dechy
Kuznetsova is leading the weaker bottom half of the draw, but her quarter still has several rising stars who are capable of upsetting the No. 2 in the world. Agnes Szavay, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Lucie Safarova are all in Kuznetsova’s quarter, with experienced Venus Williams and Ana Ivanovic lurking in the semis. Of course, all this is assuming Kuznetsova escapes France’s Grand Slam doubles champion Nathalie Dechy in the first round.
Jelena Jankovic (3)
First Round: Tamira Paszek
Tamira Paszek will be a tough first round match for the recovering Serb; if there will be a major first round upset, look for this to be it. Jankovic is still sluggish after her grueling 2007 season, plus she badly injured her thigh two weeks ago at the Hopman Cup.
Ana Ivanovic (4)
First Round: Sorana Cirstea
Ana Ivanovic’s goal for a maiden Grand Slam win has been derailed by Venus Williams in the past two majors, and another potential meeting is in the draw for the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Ivanovic had a rough start to 2008 with losses at Hong Kong’s JB Group Classic, but she did reach the semifinals at this week’s Medibank International before losing to Justine Henin in three sets.
Maria Sharapova (5)
First round: Jelena Kostanic Tosic
A second round encounter with Lindsay Davenport was the last thing Sharapova needed to see in her draw. For years Sharapova has been dogged by accusations that she has received “cakewalks” at Grand Slams, but this stroke of bad luck should silence the conspiracy theorists for a while at least. Davenport has the advantage of five solid wins in Auckland last week, culminating in the third title of her comeback. Sharapova’s preparation for the Australian Open consisted of exhibitions in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Serena Williams (7)
First Round: Jarmila Gajdosova
Despite being in the same half as Justine Henin, Lindsay Davenport, Maria Sharapova, and Jelena Jankovic, defending champion Serena Williams must be relieved to know that at best, she only has to face one of them before the semifinals. Jankovic’s form is questionable at best because of her injury, making Serena the favorite in a potential quarterfinal.
Venus Williams (8)
First Round: Zi Yan
Again, an-all Williams final is a possibility, but it has been a long five years since Venus and Serena met in the Championship round at Melbourne Park. Venus does have a kind draw, with Sania Mirza being the first seed she could meet in the tournament. Ana Ivanovic lurks as a potential quarterfinal opponent.
Lindsay Davenport – Unseeded
First Round: Sara Errani
The most dangerous floater of the 2008 Australian Open was dealt Maria Sharapova in her sixteenth of the draw. That could be a bane or a blessing for the new mother, because Sharapova has struggled in the past during the early rounds of the Australian Open. If Davenport does Sharapova in the second round, she could face Justine Henin in the quarterfinals.
To view a copy of the 2008 Australian Open main draw, visit the Australian Open website.
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The top half once again gets the biggies…and Serena and Justine again put in the same draw along with Jelena Jankovic.
Maria will have to battle Davenport in the second round if both get through, what a top draw:
Top:
Justine, Serena, Maria, Davenport, Muaresmo = 22 Grand Slams among them.
Bottom:
Venus, Kuznetosva = 7 Slams.
Wow Nick, I never thought of comparing the Grand Slams – good idea!
Serena stands to gain the most from having the draw so loaded – Justine, Maria, and Lindsay will bump each other off before getting to her.
An All-Williams final is clearly not out of the question.
I wouldn’t count on an All-Williams Sisters final, I don’t think it will happen. The draw on both side is just loaded, I think Venus would have a better chance of advancing.
It would be like old time if it does happen, but I think Justine is hungry to win Aussie Open and so is Serena…Some big battle up on the top again.
Should be a great two weeks on the women side, the second round between Maria and Lindsay will be a fake-final match if both play well.
With the exception of the 2007 U.S. Open, which she failed to take advantage of, I’m not sure why the comment was made that Sharapova gets a cakewalk at the Grand Slams? She beat then Numbers 1 and 2 Henin and Mauresmo to win the Open in 2006, hardly a cakewalk.
Michael you obviously didn’t pay attention to any of Maria Sharapova’s draws last year. More times than not at major tournamnets, she wouldn’t have to face a top player until the later rounds. Look at her year-end championship draw! No matter what she was always on the unloaded side of the draw! She’s getting what she deserves! Go Davenport!
Hi Michael,
Just want to clarify something – I was not saying that Sharapova has received cakewalk draws, I was merely pointing out that for once, no one can say she did receive an easy draw.
Several times over the past couple of years I’ve heard mention that Sharapova’s draws are often easier than the other top players, even to the point of people claiming the draw is rigged.
If Sharapova did indeed receive kind draws over the past couple of seasons, why does she only have two Grand Slam titles? Her title in 2006 required a lot of effort and work, especially as you mentioned she had to battle Mauresmo and Henin.
Plus, despite having a relatively easy draw, a player is still never invincible – something Sharapova proved last year at Flushing Meadows.
Justine, Serena and Jelena, why do they always come together? Now add Lindsay, Amelie and Maria, we got a loaded top half. Pfff….But the first quarter is indeed ridiculous, Justine, Maria, Lindsay will battle it out.
Venus owns the bottomhalf I must say. But she has to be careful, we have a very motivated Ivanovic lurking in her quarters which can do some damage as Ana has been working really hard in Australia, plus taking a set off Justine for the first time must give her some confidence when playing against top players.