Henin Faces Stiff Competition in Dubai Defense

Seven of the world's Top 10 will head to the United Arab Emirates this week for the eighth edition of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Justine Henin is the top seed and defending champion at the $1.5-million, Tier II event, but with such a stellar cast in attendance, competition is sure to be fierce in Dubai.
 
Henin has a record second to none at the Dubai Tennis Centre, having lifted the title in four of the past five years. The 25-year-old Belgian's triumph 12 months ago was one of 10 tournament victories in 2007 and judging by her performances since the turn of the year few would bet against her this time around. Henin won her season opening tournament in Sydney and despite a slightly disappointing quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open, returned to winning ways in Antwerp a fortnight ago. The world No.1, like her fellow Top 4 seeds, receives a first round bye, before meeting either Nadia Petrova or a qualifier.
 
The No.2 seed and 2004 Dubai runner-up, Svetlana Kuznetsova, has endured a somewhat more troublesome start to the campaign. The Russian was one of 2007's most consistent performers, winning the New Haven title and finishing runner-up on a further five occasions, and after a defeat to Henin in the Sydney final this season was shaping up to be another to remember. However, Kuznetsova followed this up with premature exits at both the Australian Open and Doha, and she will be desperate to get her campaign back on track this week.
 
The Serbian duo of Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic are seeded No.3 and No.4 respectively and both have the potential to go all the way to the title. Jankovic knows all about success in the Gulf, having reached the final in the United Arab Emirates three years ago and will look to go one better this time around. Ivanovic, the recent Australian Open runner-up, is making her main draw debut in Dubai and her title challenge hinges on a swift recovery from the left ankle injury she incurred in Doha last Wednesday.
 
No.5 seed Maria Sharapova has without doubt been the standout player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour since the turn of the year, storming to her third Grand Slam at the Australian Open before making it back-to-back titles with victory in Doha on Sunday. The hard-hitting Russian's only previous appearance at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships saw her make the final, before losing out to Henin, in 2006 and with the game's two heavyweights situated on opposite sides of the draw there is every possibility of this intriguing match-up being reenacted a week on Sunday.
 
The remaining seeds are comprised of recent Paris [Indoors] champion Anna Chakvetadze (No.6), the high-flying Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli (No.7) and the gifted Russian Elena Dementieva (No.8). However, with such strength and depth in the 28-strong field there are a plethora of dangerous unseeded players lurking in the draw, such as Li Na, Amélie Mauresmo, Agnes Szavay and Nicole Vaidisova. Hungarian teenager Szavay awaits Sharapova in the opening round, while Li and Vaidisova are potential last 16 foes for Kuznetsova and Ivanovic respectively.
 
The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships was first staged in 2001, when Martina Hingis triumphed over Nathalie Tauziat in the final and since then three more players have captured the prestigious title. Mauresmo triumphed in 2002 and was followed on the honor roll by Henin (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007) and Lindsay Davenport (2005). This year's victor will take home $250,000, while the losing finalist is set to receive $130,000.