It's a good year for the women at the Australian Open. The women's field is strong and the tournament is once again offering equal prize money. Winners of the women's and men's singles titles will each earn $450,000. It's an increase of 15.8 percent for the women. There's also been an increase in recent years in the number of contenders among the women's field.

At the top of that field are Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis and Venus Williams.

Lindsay Davenport

Player

Pam's Analysis

Davenport's the defending champion after stopping Hingis' long run at the Australian Open in 2000. It was Davenport's only Grand Slam victory last year, so she should be pretty determined to defend her title. She needs to stop this trend: Before Wimbledon last year she'd never lost in a Grand Slam. She had a perfect record. Now it is 3-2 after Davenport lost to Venus Williams at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Venus Williams

Player	Pam's Analysis
	Venus is the favorite, but she does not have a real record on the Rebound Ace surface. It's a harder bounce and it feels different under foot. Williams did well enough on the surface at the Sydney Olympics, however, where she won the gold medal. Venus went on a 35-match win streak last year, but in her only other final after the Olympics she lost to Davenport.

Martina Hingis

Player	Pam's Analysis
	Hingis' record in Melbourne -- despite losing last year -- is tremendous the past four years. She not only won singles in 1997-1999 but she also won the doubles titles those years as well. She made it to the finals last year but fell to Davenport. Hingis finished No. 1 last year because she was the only player who consistently stayed healthy. She was able to play more and that gave her an edge.

Serena Williams

Player	Pam's Analysis
	Serena did not play very well at the opening Grand Slam last year. She looked rusty and out of sorts, so it's a good sign she's playing in the Sydney International. It will help work out some of the rust.

Monica Seles

Player	Pam's Analysis
	Seles is such a wonderful ball-striker. The only major she's won after '93 was the Australian Open in 1996. Seles likes this court and she's a favorite here. The only drawback is that although right now she seldom loses to people ranked below her, she still loses to those ranked above her.

Mary Pierce

Player	Pam's Analysis
	Pierce likes the Rebound Ace courts and when her game is on track she can compete with the top players. But she just cannot maintain it. She's not as fast, which puts more pressure on her power hitting, and she had shoulder problems late in 2000. Her best plan is to go out there and slug away and hope that her game is on.

Jennifer Capriati

Player	Pam's Analysis
	She is an interesting story to follow in 2001. A victory such as the one she had in the opening round of the adidas International where she beat Russia's Tatiana Panova 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 is a good way to start off the year. It builds confidence to come back and a put a final set away 6-1.

Anna Kournikova

Player	Pam's Analysis
	Anna Kournikova will continue to be a big story. She's got herself back in the top 10 and finished the 2000 ranked at her career-high in singles -- No. 8.

Players who could have a breakthrough
Conchita Martinez

Player	Pam's Analysis
	She's ranked No. 5 and has a good record at the Australian Open in 10 appearances with a runner-up finish in 1998. She reached the semifinals in 2000, but this will be the year that she starts to struggle.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario

Player	Pam's Analysis
	Made it to two finals -- in 1994 and 1995 -- but she only reached the quarterfinals here last year.

Elena Dementieva

Player	Pam's Analysis
	She lost to Davenport at the U.S. Open in the semifinals. However, she won the silver medal at the Olympics on Rebound Ace in Sydney.

Young players to watch
Kim Cljisters

Player	Pam's Analysis
	Cljisters is ranked No. 18, and she should also draw some attention Down Under as it is rumored that she has a little romance going with Lleyton Hewitt.

Justine Henin

Player	Pam's Analysis
	Henin just won the Australian Hardcourt Championships on the Gold Coast and has the talent to keep shining.

Jelena Dokic

Player	Pam's Analysis
	She's Australian, so she'll be in front of a home crowd, but she's said controversial things before about moving away from Australia. Her father, who has clashed with officials and media in Birmingham, Wimbledon and Melbourne, has been a distraction. She's a good player, and at No. 24 she's on the move, but she's always had so much controversy around her it's unfortunate.

Amelie Mauresmo

Player	Pam's Analysis
	She has had some injury problems, low back and most recently a thigh injury, but she's dangerous. Last year at Sydney International, she beat Hingis and Davenport back-to-back on Rebound Ace.

Chanda Rubin

Player	Pam's Analysis
>	Rubin made waves down here in 1996 by reaching the semifinals. She had injury problems that kept her from representing the United States in the Fed Cup, but she is now back at No.13.