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BEIJING: China plays host to its biggest tennis tournament since the Olympics from Saturday, with Dinara Safina and Rafael Nadal headlining the revamped China Open.
Identifying the nation as a key strategic marketplace, the WTA and ATP have upgraded the event to become a cornerstone of their respective tours and many of the world's best players are in town.
Women's world number one Safina arrived in Beijing early, keen to get back on track after being dumped out of this week's Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in the first round.
A key rival to her resurgence will be Serena Williams, playing her first tournament since the abusive and threatening tirade she launched at a line judge in a semi-final loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters at the US Open.
The 11-time Grand Slam champion, who was fined US$10,500, has been busy since then promoting her new book, but will have only one thing on her mind when she picks up her racquet here - to win another title.
Sister Venus, another top seed knocked out in Tokyo at the first hurdle, is also in Beijing, as are most of the world's top 20, including defending champion Jelena Jankovic.
But Clijsters is not taking part, preferring to maintain a balance between tennis and being a mother, meaning she will only play a few more select events this year.
Local hopes lie with Li Na, Zheng Jie and Peng Shuai.
World number five Andy Roddick is the defending champion on the men's side and with Roger Federer opting to miss the tour's Asian swing, Nadal and Novak Djokovic are his main threats.
Nadal pulled out of the Thailand Open last week with a stomach injury but has recovered and will play. With an 11-0 record in Beijing - he won in 2005 and then claimed Olympic gold in 2008 -- the Spaniard is the man to beat.
Britain's Andy Murray has skipped Beijing to play in Tokyo.
The tournament is expected to be Marat Safin's last, with the big Russian set to retire after Beijing, something that has not been missed by organisers who plan to throw a party after handing him a wildcard.
The event is played at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre, the first tournament since the Games in 2008, with women's qualifying starting on Friday.
The women's main draw gets underway Saturday and the men's on Monday.
Seeds:
Men
Rafael Nadal (ESP x1)
Novak Djokovic (SRB x2)
Andy Roddick (USA x3)
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS x4)
Fernando Verdasco (ESP x5)
Fernando Gonzalez (CHI x6)
Robin Soderling (SWE x7)
Tommy Robredo (ESP x8)
Women
Dinara Safina (RUS x1)
Serena Williams (USA x2)
Venus Williams (USA x3)
Elena Dementieva (RUS x4)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB x5)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x6)
Vera Zvonareva (RUS x7)
Victoria Azarenka (BLR x8)
- AFP/yb
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