Week #39 preview: Tokyo

Tokyo (JPN), Premier, $2,000,000
Next step of the Asian season is in Japan with the Premier tournament of Tokyo, which will feature an outstanding draw with 14 of the Top-15 players, with the only absence of WTA #2 Serena Williams. WTA #1 Dinara Safina leads the field and will try to defend her title, with fellow Russians Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva, American Venus Williams, Serbian Jelena Jankovic and Danish Caroline Wozniacki as other candidates for the title. Last week champion in Seoul, comeback veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm will celebrate her 39th birthday in front of her home crowd.