Petrova Eyes Title Defense at Amelia Island

Nadia Petrova has fond memories of the Bausch & Lomb Championships. One year ago she came through a strong field here to capture her first ever clay court title, and before that she reached the semifinals three separate times. This week the Russian world No.7 returns to Amelia Island for the Tier II event, the first leg of the two-week American clay court swing, which ends in Charleston next week.

As was mentioned, Petrova, who is the No.1 seed this year, has a great career record at the Bausch & Lomb Championships. She has won 17 matches in six main draws, falling first round in her first two attempts, reaching the semifinals in her next three tries (2001, 2004 and 2005) and last year winning the title. The 24-year-old Muscovite begins her defense after a first round bye, against Kaia Kanepi or a qualifier.

Perhaps the biggest threat to Petrova's defense is on the opposite end of the draw, as the No.2 seed. Jelena Jankovic was one of the hottest players during the second half of last season and hasn't stopped excelling in 2007, breaking into the Top 10 earlier in the year and consolidating that with several solid finishes at other Tier II events, such as Dubai and Doha (semifinals at both). She is also 3-2 lifetime against Petrova, a record that includes a win in the last meeting between the pair so should the Top 2 seeds make it through their halves of the draw, the No.2 may just have the edge. Jankovic will begin with a second round encounter against either Japan's Akiko Morigami or a qualifier.

Aside from Petrova, only two of this week's Top 8-seeded players have made it deep into this draw before, namely No.3 seed Daniela Hantuchova and No.4 seed Patty Schnyder. Hantuchova, who earned the Tier I Pacific Life Open title two weeks ago and is close to a Top 10 return, is a one-time quarterfinalist here; Schnyder, who has struggled on hardcourts so far this year but now returns to her favorite surface, is a three-time quarterfinalist at this event.

Jankovic and No.5 seed Dinara Safina have both reached the third round before; No.6 seed Ana Ivanovic, No.7 seed Li Na and No.8 seed Tatiana Golovin are all making their career Bausch & Lomb Championships debuts this week.

Other dangerous names in the draw include resurgent former Top 10 player Vera Zvonareva, the No.9 seed; Indian Wells semifinalist Sybille Bammer, the No.13 seed; and last but definitely not least former No.1 and five-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, the 2002 champion here but unseeded in the draw. Williams could be Schnyder's first opponent of the week in the second round.

This is the 28th year that Amelia Island has been a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stop. A wealth of great names fills the champions list, including Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Gabriela Sabatini, Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, Lindsay Davenport, Conchita Martínez, Mary Pierce, Monica Seles, Amélie Mauresmo, the aforementioned Williams, Elena Dementieva and Petrova.

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