The 2006 Australian Open kicks off Monday morning in Melbourne. The first of the year's Grand Slam events has produced some of the best tennis in recent memory. Today we take a look at this year’s women’s draw.

This is a tough draw. The top 25 ranked women’s players are the top 25 seeds here. No injured Williams sisters, no injured Belgians and a full battery of Mother Russia’s finest daughters have made this the most solid group I’ve ever seen. 11 out of the top 15 players have advanced to a grand slam final. Nine have raised a trophy.

If these girls plan on reproducing the amazing tennis we saw last year, they have a tall order ahead of them. Serena Williams was absolutely murdered in the first set of her semifinal against Maria Sharapova. She managed to clean up her game, and found the will to come back and grind out the second 7-5. The third set was an absolute shooting war, with two of the hardest ball strikers in history duking it out. In the end it was Serena who threw the final punch, pounding a backhand winner to take the third set 8-6, bringing the 2 hour, 39 minute slugfest to a conclusion.

Serena got into similar trouble early in the final against Lindsay Davenport. However, Davenport’s brutal schedule (she also advanced to the final in doubles) left her unable to close the door in the second. With the score 3-3, Lindsay simply ran out of gas. Serena showed no mercy. She pounded Davenport into submission, winning the last nine games and her seventh major title. Looking the way she did, I’ve got to give Lindsay a lot of credit for finishing out the match.

So who will raise Norman’s cup this year? Or more accurately, who will be able to travel through this minefield unscathed?

Number 4 - Maria Sharapova: A lot of people complain about Maria Sharapova’s current market saturation, but I just can’t see enough ads featuring this young Russian. My question is, why was she only on the cover on Tennis Magazine twice last year?

Sharapova didn’t win a slam last year, but she did make the semis at 3 slams, and the quarters at the other. I’m sure she wants to snag her second major here in Melbourne, and she’s got a fair chance to do so. Her biggest obstacle is the fact that she’s nursing a dislocated rib. Her doctors have told her that playing through it will not make the injury any worse. Maria says “I’m going to have to suck it up and do the best I can.”

Her draw isn’t the worst ever. Other than #17 Daniela Hantuchova, it should be pretty uneventful until she meets Serena Williams in the 4th round. Serena has been plagued with injuries for the last two years, and her fitness is not what it was in 2003, but she’s still one of the most feared players in the game.

Assuming that she can get past Serena Williams in the 4th round, (which may be a huge assumption) she would either face the 5th seed Nadia Petrova, or the 9th seed Elena Dementieva in the quarters. As long as Sharapova isn’t in excruciating pain, she should get through either one.

Number 3 - Amelie Mauresmo: Are we absolutely sure that she’s not Bill Cowher’s daughter? Sorry, I’m just teasing her because she’s French, and she looks like the coach of the Steelers.

Besides, it was Martina Hingis who referred to her as “half a man”, not me. Luckily for Hingis, (who is attempting a comeback at this tournament) she’s not in Amelie’s section of the draw.

Mauresmo is by far the best player to have never won a slam. In her last 15 slam appearances, she’s only missed the quarterfinals twice. She’s a constant presence in week two, but always seems to fall just short of the prize. This could be the year that the curse is broken.

It looks like at the very least she’ll make the second week (again). She’s lined up to play India’s Sania Mirza in the third round, and she could have a tough 4th round match in Nicole Vaidisova, but I think Amelie’s experience will allow her to find weaknesses in these young players’ games and pick them apart.

In the quarters her likely opponents would be either #7 Patty Schnyder, or #12 Anastasia Myskina. I’m guessing she’s through to the semis at least.

Number 2 - Kim Clijsters: Before I learned of her hip injury (sustained during a warmup for a warmup tournament), I would have absolutely picked her to bring another major title back to Belgium. Now I’m not so sure.

The good news is, she’s had an MRI, and there’s no muscle tear. The bad news is, she still has substantial inflammation of her hip joint and tendon. More bad news is, the Australian Open is played on a rubber surface. While not as hard on joints as traditional hardcourts, the surface can become sticky in 100 degree Australian heat and can lead to a lot of awkward starting and stopping.

She had sort of a cakewalk draw a week ago, but hip injures and tennis don’t mix well. I don’t know how bad this injury is, or how well Clijsters can play through pain, but anything is certainly possible now. I wouldn’t be surprised if Meghan Shaughnessy just booked her hotel room for three more nights.

One thing is for certain, she had better get herself up to 100% before she runs into number 5 seed Mary Pierce in the quarters. The Canadian born, American raised, and apparently now French Pierce is playing some of the best tennis of her 17 year career. She probably also wants revenge after Clijsters used her to mop up Arthur Ashe stadium in last year’s U.S. final.

Number 1 - Lindsay Davenport: Number one is the spot reserved for the best in the game. Lindsay Davenport had better be at her best to get through this gauntlet. Her potential opponents have 10 grand slam singles titles between them.

She should have adequate time to get warmed up, as she can’t see a seeded player until Maria Kirilenko in round three. However, the river starts moving faster. In the 4th round she could face Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat Lindsay on her way to the U.S. Open Championship in 2004.

After that, she could play the winner of a match between Venus Williams and Justine Henin-Hardenne. Not sure who she should be rooting for, as she has a 13-12 record vs. Venus and a 5-4 record against HH. The tiebreaker might be, that she’s been kind of beating Venus lately (4 of the last 5). Henin-Hardenne has beaten Davenport their last 4 meetings, the last time Lindsay won was 2002.

Davenport made two finals last year, and was snuffed out by two different Williams sisters. I’ll definitely be rooting for Lindsay to pull one in this year. Look for her to play a lighter schedule and focus primarily on the four slams. She’ll turn 30 at Wimbledon this year, and has hinted at retirement in the past. I don’t see her leaving the game completely, but if she can grab a major and become the first ever player to retire at #1 I think she’ll do it. Look for her to hang it up for a year and come back to grab some doubles titles.