Women’s Aussie Open Preview

By Marty Gitlin
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

If the Russians were this superior to the Americans at something more important during the Cold War, every backyard would have had a bomb shelter.

While eight of the top 13 seeds in the Australian are from Russia or former Soviet Union territories, the United States was shut out of the seedings completely. In fact, nobody is even close.

Venus Williams has withdrawn from the event, but she no longer rates. And sister Serena is now ranked 95th in the world. She seems to have lost interest in tennis completely.

What really weakened the field was the withdrawal of top-seeded Justin Henin-Hardenne, who is skipping the event for family reasons. That leaves Russian Maria Sharapova as the No. 1 seed. WagerWeb.com lists Sharapova at +225 (2.25-1) to snag the title.

The cream of the women’s crop has been bunched by bettors. Frenchwoman and defending Australian Open champ Amelie Mauresmo, who has slid up to the second seed, is at +350 (3.5-1) with fourth-seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters next at +500 (5-1).

A strong bet might be third-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has yet to be recognized for her talents. WagerWeb.com lists her only at +2000 (20-1) despite a higher positioning than fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova (+1400, 14-1), sixth-seeded Martina Hingis (+1800, 18-1) and even 10th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova (+1600, 16-1).

One relative long shot who has also not earned the respect of bettors is eight-seeded Swiss Patty Schnyder (+8000, 80-1). If Schnyder upsets Sharapova in an expected quarterfinal showdown, she’s capable of winning the championship.

Hingis faces a tough draw. She meets 2005 Melbourne Open semifinalist Nathalie Dechy of France in the first round and will likely face Clijsters in the semifinals.

The withdrawal of Venus Williams with a lingering wrist injury might still leave her sister as the top American hope based on talent along, though several Americans are now ranked ahead of her, including Meghan Shaughnessy (No. 37), Shenay Perry (44), Jamea Jackson (45), Venus (46), Vania King (60) and Laura Granville (68).

Perry, in fact, is scheduled to be Mauresmo’s first-round opponent (victim?). Serena Williams, meanwhile, is on a collision course with Petrova in the third round.

Russians everywhere. But at least they’re only armed with tennis rackets.