Russian Duo Tops The Seedings in New ZealandAUCKLAND, New Zealand - The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season will kick off with a bang, as a star-studded field heads to New Zealand's North Island for the 24th edition of the ASB Classic. Vera Zvonareva tops the list of seeds and with nine other Top 50 stars and former world No.1 Lindsay Davenport also in attendance, the $145,000, Tier IV event promises to be one to remember.
After enduring an injury-hit 2007, Zvonareva enters the coming season intent on recapturing the form which saw her lift two Tour titles in 2006. 12 months ago the 23-year-old Russian made a near-perfect start to the year when she finished runner-up to Jelena Jankovic in Auckland and this time around the top seed will be determined to go one better. Despite being sidelined for over four months with a left-wrist injury, Zvonareva still managed to notch-up 30 victories for the year and finish 2007 with a credible world ranking of No.22.
One of Zvonareva's main challengers for the title will be her compatriot and fellow Top 30 resident, Maria Kirilenko. The 20-year-old Muscovite was in fine form towards the end of 2007 and arrives at her first event of the year in buoyant mood. The world No.25's only previous appearance in Auckland came two years ago when she made the quarterfinals and she is more than capable of going even further in 2008.
The final member of the Top 30 in action at this year's ASB Classic is 2005 champion Katarina Srebotnik. 2007 was a solid year for the Slovene star, as she compiled 29 victories and finished the year sitting at No.27 in the world rankings. The 26-year-old will be making her fifth appearance in the main draw in Auckland and will hope the Kiwi crowd can inspire her to a fifth career title.
The remaining seeds to have made the journey to New Zealand's most populous city are the talented Dutch teenager Michaella Krajicek (No.4), the tenacious Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues (No.5), Austrian starlet Tamira Paszek (No.6), two-time champion Eleni Daniilidou (No.7) and France's Emilie Loit.
However, with such a strong field assembled, there are also several dark horses lurking in the draw and none more dangerous than three-time Grand Slam champion Davenport. The 31-year-old American gave birth to her first child, Jagger Jonathan Leach, in June and consequently missed nearly the entire 2007 season, but her brief reappearance towards the end of the year proved she is anything but a spent force - winning two titles and defeating several current Top 10 players in the process.
Several former ASB Classic winners are returning to the event this year, although defending champion Jelena Jankovic is not among them. Other players to have triumphed at the ASB tennis centre in recent times include Marion Bartoli (2006), Daniilidou (2003, 2004), Anna Smashnova (2002), Meilen Tu (2001) and Anne Kremer (2000). This year's victor will be rewarded with a cheque for $22,900, while the runner-up will take home $12,345.
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