THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DOHA, Qatar -- After a wide open year in women's tennis, with half a dozen players sharing the most coveted spoils, the best in the world are in Doha, Qatar for the WTA Tour's season-ending championship.
Once again, there is no clear favourite with two Serbs, two Americans and four Russians vying for the title.
The women's game lacks the drama of the men's side, where the rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer reached a peak at the Wimbledon final with a Nadal victory that was hailed as one of the greatest matches in history.
But the Women's Tennis Association says broad parity and a tight race for No. 1 draw fans even after the abrupt retirement of top-ranked Justine Henin in May at the age of 25.
"In the beginning ... there was a spot open for everybody," top-ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia said Monday. "I'm really proud of myself that, you know, I could cope with all the pressure, and I could get all the points and secure my No. 1 ranking for the rest of the year."
Five players have held the top ranking this year, but only three of them will play in the US$4.55 million Sony Ericsson Championships that start with a round-robin format on Tuesday at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex. Henin is out of the rankings, and a shoulder injury has sidelined Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova.
That leaves Jankovic, who has won four titles but no major; third-ranked Serena Williams of the United States, who won the U.S. Open for her ninth major; and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, who won her first major at the French Open, but slid to No. 4 after a string of losses linked to thigh and thumb injuries, as well as self-doubt.
"I think we're all a little bit tired and we have a long season behind us," said Ivanovic, who returned to form last month with a title win at Linz, Austria, her first since Roland Garros in June. "I feel my game is back on a level before my injury."
The other elite contenders are Wimbledon winner Venus Williams and the Russian contingent of second-ranked Dinara Safina, former U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, Olympic gold medallist Elena Dementieva and world No. 9 Vera Zvonareva.
"I'm ready to get off the blocks fast," said Venus Williams, who welcomed WTA plans to reduce the number of compulsory tournaments for top players during a shorter 2009 season. Some events will be mandatory with possible suspensions in the event of non-compliance, but the goals are to generate commercial success and curb the burnout and injury that often come with a heavy playing schedule.
"It creates a stronger business model for not only the players but the tournaments," Venus Williams said. "I feel like the (WTA) road map is a great thing."
The championships were held in Madrid in 2006 and 2007, with Henin winning both times. Prior to Spain, they were mostly held in the United States. The transfer of the event to the Gulf partly reflects the lure of commercial backing from the energy-rich region, even if its tennis culture is not as developed as in the West.
Qatar will host the WTA season-ending tournament for three years, after which the championships will shift to Istanbul, Turkey.
The Doha tournament's White Group includes Jankovic and Ivanovic, along with Kuznetsova and Zvonareva. The American Williams sisters, as well as Safina and Dementieva, are in the Maroon Group. The top two players in each advance to elimination rounds. In addition, a doubles tournament will feature the world's top four teams.
On Tuesday, Kuznetsova plays Zvonareva, Jankovic faces Ivanovic, and Safina takes on Venus Williams.
Although the WTA championships lack the stature and fan interest of the four majors, Serena Williams said she was committed to a strong performance in Doha, with the winner collecting as much as $1.34 million.
"I need the money," joked Williams, who won the championship in 2001.
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