The fight for bragging rights

It will be an extra challenge for me, Jankovic said Saturday,two days before the season-opening major gets under way.

Still,she wasnt short on confidence,saying she feels she deserves the top ranking. She also undertook what she called her toughest-ever training regime in November and December,clearly adding some muscle,to help her stay on top.

If I win a Grand Slam,it will be great result,great achievement, Jankovic said. But Im already No. 1,and I believe all of these girls here want to be where I am now. So Im just enjoying it and really having fun. I play tennis because I like to play,not because I have to prove anything to everybody.

Making a case

Williams is ready to make her own case that nobody is better than her. I would feel weird sitting here saying Im not the best, said a relaxed and fit-looking Williams,who won the last Grand Slam,the US Open,in September while briefly regaining the top ranking. Even if Im ranked 100 in the world,I would sit here and say Im the best player.

Nothing against Jankovic. She went out in the fall and worked hard and got the No. 1 ranking. I feel like Im the best just because Im not going to sit here and say anyone is better than me. I shouldnt be in tennis if I felt that way.

Both would have to overcome some serious challenges to get to the January 31 final. Even with the absence of defending champion Maria Sharapova still getting back to fitness after a shoulder injury sidelined her for most of the second half of 2008 the womens field shapes up as one of the strongest in years.

Dinara Safina earned the third seeding by winning four tournaments last year and reaching the French Open final and the US Open semis. No. 4 Elena Dementieva,the gold medalist at the Beijing Olympics,is on a 10-match winning streak after winning two warm-up tournaments,dropping only one set.

No. 5 Ana Ivanovic is only 21 but already has had a stint as No. 1,won at Roland Garros and reached the final here last year. Like Jankovic,Safina and Dementieva are pursuing their first Grand Slam titles.

Serenas sister Venus Williams,who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles including her fifth Wimbledon title last year reckons she can get back to No. 1,too. Right now Im not No. 1,so the number and everything isnt matching up. But I hope to get there, the sixth-seeded Williams said.

The competition is very strong,and the girls are getting stronger and stronger and everybody is working hard, Jankovic said. I think its great for the game,and I think its also great for the spectators. Its great entertainment because you never know who is going to win.