Henin hot favourite in strong Aussie Open field

MELBOURNE: World number one Justine Henin enters the Australian Open high on confidence and in the form of her life but must fend off a strong field of challengers to claim her seventh Grand Slam.   

Among those gunning for the Belgian is defending champion Serena Williams, looking fitter and sharper than the player who stunned the tennis world by claiming the title last year after a career-threatening injury layoff.   

Russian Maria Sharapova, last year's beaten finalist, has also warned opponents write her off at their peril, while compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova is aching to end a Grand Slam drought stretching more than three years.   

Serena's sister Venus is another tour veteran considered a chance of lifting the trophy, combining the experience of a six-time Grand Slam winner with the hunger to win her maiden Australian Open title.   

A number of rising stars will also be in contention, including the Serbian pair Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, both looking to build on outstanding performances in 2007 that saw them break into the top five.   

France's Amelie Mauresmo took her career to a new level when she won here in 2006 and will be hoping Melbourne Park can provide her with the inspiration to turn around last year's injury-plagued season, when her ranking slipped to 18.   
But Henin, who won here in 2004 and controversially walked off centre court midway through the 2006 final against Mauresmo with a stomach complaint, remains the player to beat.   

The Belgian finished 2007 with 10 titles, including the US and French Opens.   

In the process she became the first woman to earn more than five million dollars prizemoney in one season; the first in 10 years, since Martina Hingis, to win 10 titles in a season; and the first in 18 years, since Steffi Graf, to remain unbeaten post-Wimbledon.    

Her dominance came despite turmoil in her personal life that kept her out of the 2007 Australian Open, including a marriage breakdown and an emotional reconciliation with her family after seven years' estrangement.   

Henin said she felt she had grown up in 2007 and felt more relaxed than at any other time in her career, ominously warning that her best tennis was yet to come.   

Despite her confidence, she admitted that her nightmare 2006 final provided an extra spur to claim the Australian title this year.   

"I don't have the feeling I have to prove anything to anyone," she said Sunday.   

"I just have a lot of motivation because it's a tournament I like a lot and because two years ago I couldn't be at my best and I couldn't get my chances to win another Grand Slam."   

Serena Williams said she was determined to claim Henin's number one spot this year after shaking off a series of groin, calf and thumb problems that marred her season after her Australian Open triumph.   

"I like my preparation this year," she said.   

"I don't feel any pressure at all. I feel just, you know, excited to be here. I don't feel like, 'Oh, my God, I have to win, win, win'. I just feel like I'm having so much fun every day."   

Sharapova, who fell to number five in the rankings as she struggled with injury in 2007, said her will to win meant she was always a threat at Grand Slams.   

"I don't think you can ever count me out," she said. "No matter how confident or not, no matter where my ranking is, you know, I'm one of the toughest competitors out there.   

"I never leave the court without giving a hundred percent."   

Tennis mum Lindsay Davenport, the champion in 2000, has returned to the tour reinvigorated after taking year off because of pregnancy and is seen as a dangerous floater.   

She has won three of four tournaments since returning and Henin admitted the American's rapid comeback had caught her by surprise.   

"She looks like she doesn't have any pressure now. She just plays because she loves to play tennis, and we can feel it," said the Belgian.