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Ten of the world's top-50 players will contest January's women's tennis tournament in Auckland.
Former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport remains the class act of a field that was revealed at the official launch yesterday but tournament director Richard Palmer was pleased with the calibre of the players now pencilled in for the trip to Auckland.
"The field is one with real depth and obvious class," Palmer said.
"The depth of the field between 20 and 50 is some of the best we've ever had and will mean it's going to be difficult to pick a winner."
The field is headed by world No 22 Vera Zvonareva, of Russia, who has been ranked as high as No 9 and has five career titles.
In a year blighted by injury, Zvonareva was still able to put in some top performances, including the 2007 Classic final where she was beaten in one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament, eventually losing to top seed Jelena Jankovic 7-6(9), 5-7, 6-3.
There were other top performances throughout the year as the former Roland Garros quarter-finalist reached the fourth round of the Aussie Open, the quarters at Indian Wells, Portoroz, Moscow and semis of Charleston, Luxembourg and Quebec.
She also had victories against Amelie Mauresmo, Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova.
Three former champions will return to the Classic from December 31 to January 5. Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik, the 2005 champion, sits at 26th in the world, and joining her is world No 42 Eleni Daniilidou, of Greece, who won in Auckland in 2003 and 2004.
Meilen Tu, the third ranked American at 47th, was the 2001 champion and returns to Auckland for a record 12th time.
Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues is ranked at No 34 and has seven career singles titles to her credit, after winning at Strasbourg this year.
Russian Maria Kirilenko, 20, is also returning to Auckland after a great finish to the year with quarter-final appearances at San Diego and Los Angeles that leave her at No 30 in the world.
Two newcomers to Auckland are Dutchwoman Michaella Krajicek and Austrian Tamira Paszek. Krajicek, 18, ranked 33rd and a quarter-finalist at Wimbledon this year, has won three career singles titles.
The former world No 1 ranked junior is a half sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek. She won the 2004 US Open Junior doubles with New Zealand's Marina Erakovic.
Paszek, 17 next month, has a career-high ranking of 41st after reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon and the US Open.
Other top-50 players include Frenchwoman Emilie Loit at 44th and Japan's Akiko Morigami at 49th.
Much interest will centre on Davenport, now ranked 72nd, who returned to the WTA Tour in August, two months after the birth of her first child.
