- 31 Jan 2009, 02:20
#1374635
Final showdown to determine world No 1
MELBOURNE: Jelena Jankovic’s reign as the world No 1 will come to an end when the WTA Tour singles rankings are publish on Monday.
It is projected that Jankovic’s performance in the Australian Open will see her fall to No 3 and Vera Zvonareva will reach a new career-high at No 5.
After tomorrow’s final at the Rod Laver Arena between Serena Williams and Dinara Safina, the winner will emerge as the new world No 1.
For Williams it would be a return to the top spot, having spent 61 non-consecutive weeks of her career there; Safina is aiming to become the 19th player in Tour history - and second Russian, after Maria Sharapova — to become the world No 1.
Should Safina win and become No 1, it would also be the first time in history that a brother and sister are No 1 on their respective tours (Marat Safin was ranked No 1 on the ATP World Tour for nine non-consecutive weeks between December 2000 and April 2001).
"I remember watching my brother on TV winning this tournament, and if I still watched it today I would have tears in my eyes," she said.
"It’s great that I can follow in his footsteps. He was my idol — he still is my idol — and the fact that I’m doing as well as him is amazing."
Safina and Marat have already made history by becoming the first brother and sister to make Grand Slam finals.
Safina added that the fact that the final would also decide the top ranking was a bonus.
"Since I was growing up my dream was to be the No 1 in the world," she added. "To play Serena in the final for the No 1 is unbelievable."
Rounding out the Top 10 will be Venus Williams at No 6, Svetlana Kuznetsova at No 7, Ana Ivanovic No 8, Agnieszka Radwanska No 9 and Nadia Petrova No 10.
Looking a little lower down the projections, Zheng Jie is expected to rise to No 20, making her just the second Chinese player ever to crack the Top 20 (after Li Na); Carla Suarez Navarro is expected to rise to No 30 (her Top 30 debut); and Jelena Dokic is expected to surge into the Top 100 (approximately No 91).