Sharapova primed for survival of the fittest

MELBOURNE, Jan 12: With the world's leading player out and the rest of the draw resembling an over-run battlefield hospital, the race for the women's Australian Open title is already shaping up as survival of the fittest.

If Justine Henin-Hardenne's withdrawal for personal reasons opened up the draw then the fitness question marks over champion Amelie Mauresmo, and top 10 players Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova mean the year's first grand slam is there for the taking.

The stage would appear set for Maria Sharapova -- the world number two and seeded one in Belgian Henin-Hardenne's absence -- to clinch her second straight grand slam and break Russia's duck in the women's singles at Melbourne Park.

She opted to skip the traditional warm-up tournaments in favour of an early arrival in Melbourne to become acclimatized to the city's unique conditions, and is delighted with her preparation.

''I have had one of the best off-seasons training wise I have had in a couple of years,'' said the U.S. Open champion.

''The last few I have been injured and I have not been able to work on too many things, but I've been happy with my off-season this year.''

ULTIMATE TEST

With the mercury frequently tipping 40 degrees and the added factor of thick smoke from raging Victorian bushfires, then the next fortnight promises more than ever to be the ultimate test of grand slam endurance.

Champion Mauresmo, who also won Wimbledon last year as she finally made her grand slam breakthrough, is among the ranks of players who feel under-prepared for the rigours of a successful Melbourne campaign.

''I'm just disappointed about the way I feel,'' the Frenchwoman said after her quarter-final defeat to Jelena Jankovic in Sydney this week.

''I think there is a lot of work to do in my game physically, and so that's more what I'm concerned about than really the fact that I'm out of the (Sydney) tournament,'' Mauresmo said.

''I would have loved, of course, to play one or two more matches, but, you know, I still have some work to do.'' There would be no more popular winner than Kim Clijsters, the Belgian still dubbed ''Aussie Kim'' in her adopted country, who is embarking on her final year on the tour before heading into retirement and married life with basketballer Brian Lynch.

The ex-fiancee of Australia's former world number one Lleyton Hewitt scored a notable triumph over Sharapova in an exhibition match in Hong Kong earlier this month and is free of the injury problems that have dogged her in recent years.

POPULAR WINNER

''My focus is so much on the tennis stuff, (retiring) doesn't really come to my mind until I'm actually out of the tournament.

Then it kind of hits you a bit,'' said the 23-year-old, who finished runner-up to Henin-Hardenne in 2004.

No-one in the field knows more about winning here than Martina Hingis, the Swiss former world number one who won the title in three straight years from 1997 and appeared in the next three finals.

Serbia's Jankovic, the world number 12 who crushed Hingis in Sydney this week after winning in Auckland, is a live contender despite never passing the second round at four attempts in Melbourne.

And with Petrova and Kuznetsova less than 100 percent fit, Dinara Safina could join Sharapova as a live chance in the only grand slam to have so far eluded Russia's women.

The belligerent sister of 2005 men's champion Marat Safin won the Gold Coast tune-up and the world number 10 relishes the Rebound Ace surface despite a best of the third round in 2004.

Reuters