The top eight in ladies tennis are currently battling it out for the end of season Championships in Doha and with both defending champion, Justine Henin and finalist, Maria Sharapova, out of the fray, a new Queen of the Courts will be crowned next week.

Both the Williams sisters have had a great start to the round robin leg of the elite $4.55 million competition, winning all their clashes to date. So too has the incumbent number one, Jelena Jankovic and Vera Zvonareva, who is ranked 6th on the WTA rankings.

Russian juggernaut, Dinara Safina, is clearly losing a bit of the scintillating form that propelled her into the top 5 of the women’s rankings and she fell to the power, finesse and experience of both the Williams girls in the earlier rounds.

Today, the headliner is arguably the fight between Serena and Venus, scheduled second after the opening batte between Jankovic and Kuznetsova. It will not be a foregone conclusion the younger of the two and the sister with the highest ranking at three, Serena, will outgun her sibling. The two have met 17 times in their careers and Serena has only a single title over her elder sister, who is ranked 8th.

Online bookmaker, betfair, is offering the following match betting options on all the day’s action in Doha - Jelena Jankovic (1) 1.23 versus Svetlana Kuznetsova (7) 5.1; Serena Williams (3) 1.46 versus Venus Williams (8) 3.1; Dinara Safina (2) 2.66 versus Elena Dementieva (4) 1.59.

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Not so long ago the thought of either Williams’ sister claiming one more grand slam to add to their glittering array of majors titles would have been relegated to dream land but with the recent demise of the number one seed, Ana Ivanovic, at the US Open and the no show of the 2006 champion, Maria Sharapova, the odds are clearly in one of their favours.

Who will be mentally stronger on the Day?
The two will meet this evening at the Arthur Ashe Stadium and, to be honest, either of them could win the quarter final - they are particularly well-matched, both preferring the aggressive approach to the game and it will all probably boil down to which of the sisters is physically fitter and mentally stronger on the day.

Venus showed the world she is not quite ready to be written off when she claimed her fifth Wimbledon singles crown and then went on to win the doubles as well with her little sister, her prime adversary in today’s clash at Flushing Meadows. She did make short work of Serena in London, winning the title in straight sets, but today will be an entirely different challenge.

Serena showing Form
Although Serena has not won any majors this year, she is cleary playing some formidable tennis at the moment, having bagged three WTA titles this season already. Both sisters have won in New York on two occasions and Serena has claimed one more grand slam title than her sister, Venus - to date she has claimed eight titles at the majors of tennis.

Local online bookmaker, sportingbet, has a variety of bets on the outcome of the match including the total number of games, the first set winner and odds on each set. Current odds on the match are Serena 3/4 & Venus 19/20.

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All the top seeds in the women’s draw should romp home in the opening round of the US Open today unless they too have found the extraordinary volume of competitive tennis due to the Bejing Olympics has sapped some of their energy, verve and fervour!

Ivanovic should go through without too much Ado!
French Open champion and top seed for the tournament, Ana Ivanovic starts her campaign against relative no-name, Vera Dushevina, who is unseeded for the event and currently ranked 57th on the WTA rankings. The young Russian is yet to claim a singles title on the tour and her best results at the US Open have been third round departures in 2004 and 2007. The two have met on court five times but the only time Dushevina has managed to silence the fiery Serb was way back in 2005 in Dubai, since then it has been the Ivanovic Show!

Williams’ Sisters could be too Powerful
Fourth seed, and double US Open champion, Serena Williams should be able to crush her opponent, Kateryna Bondarenko, without too much fuss. The young woman from the Ukraine is unseeded in New York and is currently ranked 46th. Sister, Venus, who confounded her critics by claiming Wimbledon this year and is seeded 7th, should have no problem with Australia’s Samantha Stosur.

Leading UK bookmaker, William Hill, is offering the following odds on the first round of the US Open - Ivanovic 1/9 versus Dushevina 5/1; Serena 1/20 versus Bondarenko 8/1; Venus 1/16 versus Stosur 7/1.

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With the top seeds tumbling out of the All England Championships with unsettling regularity, it could all boil down to the Williams’ sisters dominating on the grass courts of Wimbledon again this year. Only two other players, Amelie Mauresmo in 2006 and Maria Sharapova in 2004 have rained on their Wimbledon singles parade since the year 2000!

Forget the Wombles, it’s the Williams’ of Wimbledon!
The shock demise of current French Open champion, Ana Ivanovic, at the hands of the successful doubles combatant, Zheng Jie of China, has effectively given both Serena and Venus a very realistic chance of claiming the Venus Rosewater Dish in 2008.

Other third round casualities included 9th seed, Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo, seeded twenty-ninth for the tournament. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic are possible contenders for the ladies’ throne but Serb, Jankovic, has been battling with an injured knee and doesn’t look as formidable as her ranking proves.

Both Serena and Venus have been relegated to the dreaded ‘Graveyard’ court two for their fourth round matches, so they will have to rely, not only on excellent tennis, but a fair bit of luck as well!

Sports bookmaker, Bwin, is clearly bullish about the sisters continuing the rout of the Championships and has them both at 2.75 to win, well ahead of Jelena Jankovic, quoted at 5.50 and Svetlana Kuznetsova at 12.00!

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