Notes: Troubled former No. 1 Dinara Safina floats seedlessly in the draw, starting against China’s Xinyun Han, then a possible meeting with (5) Safarova; (8) Jovanovski a tough start against Tanasugarn, and (1) Schiavone vs. Dokic; last year Kleybanova beat the now-retired Elena Dementieva to win her first WTA title in Kuala Lumpur.

“I was leading I think 4-1 and had everything under my control,” Jankovic lamented. “I was playing pretty well. But then I just had some loose errors and she played as well some good points. And little by little, you know, she was getting her momentum, and I started completely going down…It was a bad day for me…It’s the beginning of the season, only my third match of the year. I’m still rusty. I just have to get match tough again and play right in the important times of the match. At the end, my opponent took her opportunities and was the better one.”

The list of floaters almost as impressive as the seed list; tough openers include Kirilenko vs. Cibulkova (winner to face (1) Wozniacki), (5) Schiavone vs. Kleybanova (winner to likely face Hantuchova), possible (3) Clijsters vs. Petrova 2nd rd., former world No. 2 Kuznetova vs. (WC) Dokic, winner to face (4) Stosur vs. Wickmayer winner, (6) Jankovic vs. Rezai, and (2) Zvonareva vs. winner of Pennetta vs. qualifier; 7 of the Top 10 players present in Sydney; Elena Dementieva (now retired) beat Serena Williams (now injured) in the 2010 final…Clijsters (2007, ‘03) is the lone returning champ in the field, in addition to the 2008-05 runner-ups Kuznetsova (2008), Jankovic (2007), Schiavone (2006), and Stosur (2005); 11 former No. 1 players have won the Sydney title.

The WTA Championships begin Tuesday, who’ll win?

Former No. 1 Tommy Muster returns at 43 years old!; interesting opening-round matches include (1) Melzer after a bye potentially facing (WC) Blake, and (5) Gulbis vs. Muster…

Notes: (1) Dementieva opens against Peng, and (3) Wickmayer against the Osaka finalist Schnyder; wildcards went to Dementieva, Russian Yulia Putintseva, Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella, and France’s Virginie Razzano; in last year’s final Francesca Schiavone defeated Olga Govortsova.

Juan Martin Del Potro is still winless in his comeback. Rafael Nadal leads five of the top 6 in action today.

Rafael Nadal plays in his first match since the US Open title Thursday in Bangkok.

“Winning today, I’d have to say that was probably one of the best moments of my life,” Capra said. “This whole experience has been unreal, and I’m so happy.”

Another former No. 1 struggled when No. 4-seeded Jelena Jankovic, the runner-up in New York two years ago, had to come from a set down to defeat the newly-breast-reduced Romanian, 18-year-old Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.