The Williams sisters return as a duo to challenge world No. 1
and former No. 1-ranked Serbs
.
Other Top 8 seeds in the 56-player draw are
Victoria Azarenka and
Nadia Petrova.
The Top 8 seeds receive an opening-round bye, with Safina looking at
Venus Williams and Ivanovic in her half of the draw, but the world No. 1 should face little resistance until either Petrova or
Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals. Venus and Ivanovic face a potential quarterfinal meeting, if they can navigate past quarter-mates
Anna Chakvetadze,
Anabel Medina Garrigues, and
Agnieszka Radwanska.
Kuznetsova and Jankovic are favored for a quarterfinal meeting in the third quarter. Players lying in wait in this quarter include
Daniela Hantuchova,
Flavia Pennetta,
Alize Cornet and the hot-handed
Gisela Dulko.
Serena Williams, attempting to return from a thigh injury that sidelined her for a couple weeks, including missing
Charleston, faces a potential second-round meeting with
Patty Schnyder after a bye. Azarenka will likely be awaiting the world No. 2-ranked American in the quarterfinals.
Jankovic is the two-time defending champ, last year beating Cornet 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
This is the 65th edition of Rome, which has been staged from 1930 to 1935, 1950 to 1985, and from 1987 to 2008. Chris Evert has the record for most titles in the Open Era with five, with Gabriela Sabatini and Conchita Mart�nez collecting four each.
