Lindsay Davenport /Getty Images

Exciting Match Ups Set for Australian Open

From January 17 th to 30 th , 126 women will compete for the coveted Australian Open Grand Slam title at the Rod Laver arena in Melbourne, Australia. With the exception of the top two Belgian players, the Australian Open women's draw has attracted all the top women in the world.

Top seeds include world No.1 Lindsay Davenport, defending Rogers Cup champion Amelie Mauresmo, Russians Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva and Venus and Serena Williams.

First round match-ups to highlight include Davenport against veteran Spaniard Conchita Martinez, Venus Williams versus Eleni Daniilidou of Greece, Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva against Magui Serna of Spain, Nathalie Dechy of France versus Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland and Mauresmo versus Australian Samantha Stosur.

Should the top four seeds advance to the semi-finals Davenport, the 2000 Australian Open champion, would meet French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, while No.2 seed Mauresmo would battle it out with Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova.

Four Russians are among the top six seeds and, if results go according to seedings, Myskina will clash with compatriot and No.6 seed Dementieva in one quarter-final, and Sharapova will face US Open champion Kuznetsova in another.

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