Amelie Mauresmo heads the field this week at the WTA stop in Philadelphia, looking to surpass No. 1
Lindsay Davenport for the year-end No. 1 ranking, with
Serena Williams and Davenport choosing to sit out the final week of regular-season play on the WTA Tour.
Joining Mauresmo among the seeds are Russians
Anastasia Myskina and Maria "Cell Phone Mannequin" Sharapova, Americans Jennifer Capriati and
Venus Williams, Russian Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva and
Nadia Petrova, and Aussie
Alicia Molik, seeking her third consecutive WTA title.
The top four seeds receive byes in early-round-killing fashion, but a couple early-round match-ups of interest exist in (5) Venus vs. countrywoman
Lisa Raymond, and (7) Petrova vs. countrywoman Tatiana "The Pocket Baseliner" Panova.
Mauresmo (2003) is the lone former champ in the field.
On court Monday are Tu vs. Neffa-de Los Rios, Ashley vs. Fedak, Benesova vs. Brandi, Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier vs. the teen sensation Vaidisova, and Vera "The Crying Game" Zvonareva vs. Sybille "The Whammer" Bammer.
