Week #12-13 preview: Miami

Miami (USA), Premier mandatory, $4,500,000
The Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, also known as the 5th Grand Slam, will have this year three big absences: WTA #1 and 5 times champion Serena Williams, WTA #3 Dinara Safina and former WTA #1 Maria Sharapova. All the other Top-30 players will be here, as it is a mandatory event. The fight for the title is very open and we can name several candidates, such as 3-times champion Venus Williams (WTA #5), Indian Wells champion Jelena Jankovic (WTA #8), new WTA #2 and runner-up at Indian Wells Caroline Wozniacki, defending champion Victoria Azarenka (WTA #7) and former #1 Belgians on their way back to the Tour, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova (WTA #3) and Elena Dementieva (WTA #6) should always be taken into account. Nevertheless, a surprising winner shouldn't be discarded with youngsters such as Agnieszka Radwanska, Yanina Wickmayer and Alisa Kleybanova and dangerous players such as new Top-10 Samantha Stosur, Chinese Na Li and Jie Zheng, Russian Vera Zvonareva, Italian Flavia Pennetta and Israeli Shahar Peer as the names to be followed.