Henin Spearheads Stellar Women's Field at 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
- Women's draw ceremony unveils marquee first round clashes -
The women’s draw ceremony for the 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships was made on Saturday.
Four-time winner Justine Henin will look to extend her perfect 16-0 tournament record, but will face competition from a stellar field that includes reigning Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic.
Colm McLoughlin, the managing director of Dubai Duty Free: the organisers of the tournament, said: "It is terrific that we have our two reigning champions coming back, Justin [Henin] and next week Roger Federer - both of whom are No. 1 in the world and both of whom have recently been awarded the Sportsman and Sportwomen of the Year. We consider them fantastic representatives of the sport and often speak of the Dubai tournament highly."
Henin, who has captured two titles on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour at Sydney and Antwerp this year, received a first round bye and could meet either former World No. 3 Nadia Petrova of Russia or a qualifier in her opening match. The Belgian has won the Dubai title in 2003 (d. Seles), 2004 (d. Kuznetsova), 2006 (d. Sharapova) and 2007 (d. Mauresmo).
Former finalist Kuznetsova competes in Dubai for the sixth successive year. The second seed will play either Czech Lucie Safarova or Li Na of China in the second round. Kuznetsova made her Dubai debut in 2003, when she lost to Jennifer Capriati in the second round. Since then she has reached the 2004 final and the 2006 and 2007 semifinals, losing each time to Henin.
Third-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic, who has finished runner-up at Roland Garros and the Australian Open, could meet either Nicole Vaidisova or a qualifier. Ivanovic is making her first main draw appearance in Dubai. Three years ago, the 20-year-old lost in the final round of qualifying to Vera Douchevina.
Another Serbian Jelena Jankovic, who lost to Sharapova in the Australian Open semifinals last month, was drawn to meet either Indian wild card Sania Mirza or a qualifier. Jankovic has a 7-3 record in Dubai, including a runner-up finish in 2005 (l. to Davenport).
Sharapova, the No. 5 seed, returns to the $1.5 million event for the first time since reaching the 2006 final. The Russian faces Hungarian Agnes Szavay in the first round and could potentially meet 2002 champion and former World No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo in her second match.
Sixth-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze was drawn to meet a qualifier in the first round, while No. 7 seed and Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli of France faces Italian Francesca Schiavone. Russian Elena Dementieva, who rounds out the top eight seeds, faces a tricky test against Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.
