Phenomenal Field in Madrid

The Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, one of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's biggest events with $4.5-million up for grabs, makes its debut on the calendar this week with an absolutely packed field featuring eight of the world's Top 10 singles players and the No.1 doubles team as well.

The singles field at the brand new Premier-level tournament is phenomenal, with the world's Top 5 - Dinara Safina, Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams - being joined by fellow Top 10 stars Svetlana Kuznetsova, Victoria Azarenka and Nadia Petrova. Those eight are the Top 8 seeds in the Spanish capital.

Should the seeds hold, Safina will play Kuznetsova in a rematch of the last two Premier-level finals (they played in Stuttgart and Rome); the Williams sisters will clash; Dementieva will face Azarenka; and Jankovic will play Petrova.

Caroline Wozniacki, Agnieszka Radwanska, Marion Bartoli, Flavia Pennetta, Alizé Cornet, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Zheng Jie, Kaia Kanepi and Patty Schnyder make it 17 of the Top 20. Medina Garrigues has perhaps the most buzz around her in Madrid, being Spain's highest-ranked player at No.16 and coming off her ninth career singles title on the Tour just over a week ago in Fès, Morocco. Schnyder just missed the seedings; the other eight hold No.9 through No.16.

The doubles draw is headed by co-world No.1s Cara Black and Liezel Huber, who have won two titles this year, at Paris [Indoors] and Dubai. Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam title missing in their collection, and they will be looking to get some matches in on the red clay in preparation for the year's second major, which begins in just a few weeks. Reigning Roland Garros champions Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual are seeded No.2 this week.

This won't be the first time Madrid hosts the stars of the Tour. The Madrid Open was a lead-up tournament a week before the French Open through 2003, and for back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007 the Spanish capital was home to the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships (with Justine Henin winning both).