Week #02 preview: Sydney & Hobart

Sydney (AUS), Tier II, $600,000
Justine Henin will make her 2008 debut on Sydney, which will feature a very strong field despite being a Tier II, including 14 of the Top 20 players (Kuznetsova, Ivanovic, Jankovic and Chakvetadze among them), in the most important tournament before Australian Open.

Hobart (AUS), Tier IV, $170,000
Tier IV in Hobart will also have a good field with Bondarenko and Zvonareva as top seeds and Radwanska, Mirza, Dulko and Pennetta as main competitors.

Finally, low-ranked players will compete in Melbourne for a place in a Grand-Slam draw in the Australian Open qualifications.