With Amelie Mauresmo and Li Na in the field, this week's WTA China Open can for the first time boast both the world's best player and a genuine local challenger for the title.

World number one Mauresmo, the Wimbledon champion, is top seed in a draw that features five local players eager to show the Beijing crowds the kind of form that has made 2006 a breakthrough year for Chinese women's tennis.

"The China Open is a home game for us, it will attract the attention of the whole country ... The players will play their absolute best," head coach Jiang Hongwei told a news conference.

Belgium's world number two Justine Henin-Hardenne has pulled out because of her Fed Cup commitments but the presence of American Lindsay Davenport, and Russian second and third seeds Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova should ensure a quality contest on the hard court of the Beijing Tennis Center.

The top four seeds have been given byes into the second round, while former world number one Davenport will not get into town until late Monday.

Li Na, who is seeded seventh ahead of Russian title holder Maria Kirilenko, has risen to 21st in the world on the back of some fine performances, including a Wimbledon quarter-final appearance.

While still unpredictable, Li showed in helping China into the Fed Cup world group for the first time this year that she can handle the pressure of performing on home soil.

Zheng Jie, who as well as winning the Australian and Wimbledon doubles crowns has won WTA titles at Estoril and Stockholm this year, may be playing one of her last tournaments of the season.

"Zheng has got an ankle injury, which affected her performance at the U.S. Open," coach Jiang said. "But she won't need surgery until after the Asian Games at least.

"The WTA medical experts have advised us to pay attention to players' injuries, so I have decided Zheng should skip several upcoming tournaments."

Zheng's doubles partner Yan Zi is also in the singles draw at the $600,000 tournament as is Olympic doubles champion Sun Tiantian and China's number three Peng Shuai.

(China Daily September 18, 2006)