TENNIS in DEPTH.

Fernando Verdasco, is the fourth top 10 player to start their Australian summer in Brisbane. Joining the current singles champion and world No. 8, Andy Roddick, world No.5 Robin Soderling and Queensland’s own Samantha Stosur, ranked No.6, Verdasco will return for his second attempt at a Brisbane International title after making the final of the event in its inaugural year. “Fernando was a finalist in the singles and doubles at the Brisbane International in 2009,” Tournament Director Steve Ayles said. “I remember in his post-match speech that he promised he would come back and go one step further. Now he is confirmed to contest the event, he can do just that. “The Spaniard has had a great year with two ATP title wins. One against Robin Soderling in a close three-set match at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell and the other against Andy Roddick at the SAP Open in San Jose, which ended the American’s chances of winning the title for the fourth year in a row. “As such I would imagine there will be quite a bit of rivalry between these three come January. “The 26 year old is a crowd favorite on and off the court and he is a great addition to the 2011 event. I look forward to welcoming him back,” Ayles said.

Verdasco is currently the third-highest ranked Spanish tennis player on the ATP circuit, behind world No.1 Rafael Nadal and No.7 Ferrer. The Spaniard has won five ATP titles and has been a finalist on a further eight occasions. He has also played a major part in winning two Davis Cup’s, playing the deciding match in both 2008 and 2009. Verdasco’s best result at a Grand Slam was in 2009, following the Brisbane International, where he made the semifinals of the Australian Open. Verdasco lost to compatriot Nadal, 7-6(4) 4-6 6-7(2) 7-6(1) 4-6, in an epic match that went for five hours and 10 minutes.

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Jelena Dokic believes she’s fitter and hitting the ball better than before her nation-stopping run to the Australian Open quarterfinals last January.

After resolving to return to the WTA’s top 20 in 2010, Dokic on Friday indicated she can repeat the heroics of last year’s stunning comeback at Melbourne Park.

The Serbia-born right-hander recaptured Australian hearts by upsetting a series of seeds before falling to Dinara Safina in a three-set cliffhanger in the quarters.

As brightly as she starred at the Open, Dokic said she was now in superior shape and possessed a more refined all-round game than 12 months ago.

“I do [feel I'm playing better] actually,” she said. “I feel like I’m hitting the ball well.

“I feel that my biggest improvement has been my fitness, I think I’m moving very well and my endurance is really good so I feel like I’m in much better shape than I was last year.

A dangerous floater in the draw of the Brisbane International, Dokic returned to Melbourne from her Monaco home base on Boxing Day with memories still warming her heart.

“It was great, I love that place,” she said in Brisbane. “I love Melbourne in general, even when I had my toughest times when I was coming back three years ago and doing all the playoffs I had a lot of fun there.

“I always came early to train there and I feel like it helped me get my career back on track.”

One of the best ball-strikers on the WTA tour when on song, Dokic ended a topsy-turvy year with two titles and a final loss in three challenger tournaments in Europe to see her ranking improve to No.56.

The 26-year-old worked extra hard to regain her fitness after a three-month layoff for glandular fever, which came after suffering a back injury when up a set and a break at the second round of the French Open against Elena Dementieva.

Dokic will be among the most scrutinised players at the Brisbane International, starting Sunday, along with drawcards Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic.

She didn’t rest over Christmas, motivated to continue her late-season momentum and play more consistently to break back into the top-20.

“I still have to prove myself and I still have to have more consistent results and that’s what I’m looking to do this year, I would like to have 15-20 tournaments where I do well, not three or four,” she said.

“Consistency is the key.”

Ranked as high as No.4 in 2002, Dokic conceded she must shoulder greater expectations this month but deflected most of the pressure on to Australia’s highest-ranked player, Sam Stosur.

“I think Sam has more than me,” she said. “She is [No.13] in the world and is expected to do well.

“I don’t feel like everything is on me.”

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Dinara Safina withdrew Friday from next month’s Brisbane International because of a bad back, leaving her status for the Australian Open in doubt.

Safina, the former top-ranked player in the world, had hoped to return from injury at the Brisbane event and start tuning up for the first major of 2010. But tournament director Steve Ayles said Safina’s back problem will prevent her from playing Jan. 3-10 at Brisbane.

“At this stage she’s still entered in Sydney and the Australian Open. We were first up … unfortunately she’s not going to be recovered in time,” Ayles said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

“I know she would have been working around the clock to try to be ready for the event, but in the end time beat her and she is still undergoing treatment.”

The Sydney tournament will feature most of the women’s top 10 in the week before the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 18 in Melbourne.

Safina tearfully withdrew from the WTA Championships with a serious back injury in October, a problem she originally thought could keep her out of the Australian Open. But she signed on for the Brisbane tournament only two days later.

The Russian player lasted only 13 minutes in her first round-robin match of the season-ending championships before retiring while serving at 1-1 against Jelena Jankovic. Safina’s withdrawal meant she lost the year-end No. 1 ranking to Serena Williams.

Belgians Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, both back from retirement, headline the Brisbane International women’s draw, along with Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Dokic. The tournament is in its second year.

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Drop-shot king Radek Stepanek executed his pre-match plans perfectly to

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Ana Ivanovic has denied her Australian Open campaign is in disarray after being wiped off Pat Rafter Arena by an evergreen Amelie Mauresmo.

Like fellow Serb and tournament top seed Novak Djokovic, Ivanovic bombed out of the Brisbane International meekly with a 6-3 6-2 upset loss to 29-year-old Mauresmo on Thursday.

The world No.5 was expected to sweep past the Frenchwoman, who had made tough work of her first two clashes against Jelena Dokic and compatriot Julie Coin, but it was Mauresmo who shone in the 67-minute quarterfinal.

Ivanovic struggled for rhythm throughout and was terribly shaky on serve, failing to hold five of her last six service games after leading 3-2 in the first set.

But she will stick to her Australian Open masterplan of a solid week of practice in Melbourne.

Ivanovic also only played three matches before her last assault at Melbourne Park, which finished with a defeat in the final to Maria Sharapova, but she looks far less convincing.

While patchy in tough wins over Petra Kvitova (world No.50) and Italian qualifier Roberta Vinci (83), the 21 year old talked up her Open chances.

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Add another name to the list of newbies that are being touted as the next generation of players to reach the top of their profession. Ernests Gulbis is a 6’3

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Ana Ivanovic kept her legion of fans happy tonight with a 6-4 6-2 win over Czech teenager Petra Kvitova at the Brisbane International.

In front of a lively crowd at Pat Rafter Arena, Ivanovic faced some stubborn resistance from Kvitova in the first set before snatching the break she needed to take the set 6-4.

The second was an easier affair with Ivanovic asserting her authority over her younger opponent.

Kvitova struggled to return Ivanovic

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