MELBOURNE, Australia—The list of top contenders for the Australian Open was established months ago – Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Ana Ivanovic, with Jelena Jankovic and world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova thrown in for good measure.

But any further forecasting had to wait until the draw was made.

Lopsided brackets have been the norm during the past few Slams, making them as much of a factor in the women’s event as any individual competitor. Think back to the US Open, when Henin, the Williamses, Ivanovic and Jankovic all occupied the same quarter, meaning that only one of these otherwise potential finalists could reach even the semifinals.

Some of this is coincidence and some of it is due to a certain lopsidedness in the rankings themselves. Asked to name the eight strongest female players, many would come up with the same names that occupy the top eight of the WTA rankings – Henin, Kuznetsova, Jankovic, Ivanovic, Sharapova, Anna Chakvetadze and the Williamses – but not in that order.

The disparity between true form and official ranking saw Kuznetsova seeded No. 2 and Serena seeded No. 8 in Grand Slams last year, rather than the other way around. That played havoc with the draws – had Serena been seeded No. 2 and Kuznetsova No. 8, the three consecutive Henin-Serena quarterfinals would never have happened because the two could have met only in the final.

So there was much anticipation of what the drawing of names for the Australian Open would bring, with two particularly pressing questions:

Q. Would Serena end up in Henin’s quarter again?

A. No, but she is in the same half, along with Sharapova and Jankovic, making the top half a little stronger than the bottom, which contains Williams, Ivanovic, Chakvetadze and Kuznetsova. Darkhorses Nicole Vaidisova and former champ Amelie Mauresmo are also in the top half.

Q. Where would Lindsay Davenport land?

A. One match away from a dynamite second-round meeting with Maria Sharapova. It could have been worse, but not by much.

With her confidence high and her health reportedly the best it’s been in years, new mom Davenport is by far the biggest unseeded threat in Melbourne. She returned to singles play in September after giving birth to son Jagger in June. Since then, she’s won three of the four smaller events she’s entered and split her two meetings with the only top10 player she’s faced – Jankovic.

“I’m speechless because she’s seven months out of having a baby,” said Serena. “I’m convinced if I had a baby, I’d probably still be in hospital seven months later trying to get over the pain.”

The slimmed-down Serena was less forthcoming about her own conditioning. “I’m definitely probably the fittest I’ve been in a while,” the defending champion drawled. “Maybe.”

Either way, she shouldn’t be tested in her first two matches against a (newly-minted) Aussie wildcard followed by a qualifier. After that, rising teenager Victoria Azarenka could provide some pause and Nicole Vaidisova will hope to do a little better than the tough two-set loss she suffered against Serena last year.

Serena’s projected quarterfinal opponent is Jelena Jankovic, who must first get through prodigy Tamira Pazcek in the best matchup of the first round.

Other blockbuster quarterfinals could include Henin against Sharapova and Venus against Ivanovic.

The fourth quarter is the weakest, with Kuznetsova and Chakvetadze positioned to reprise their infamously tepid US Open semifinal in the final 8. Kuznetsova put in a strong performance against Henin at the Medibank International in Sydney this week, coming one point away from going up 4-0 in the third set, but she’s flying very much under the radar as action gets underway in Melbourne Park.

Two other rising youngsters are also in this section – Agniezska Radwanska and Agnes Szavay. “You can never underestimate those that are hungry to be in the top 20 or to be in the top 10, you know, that go out and play against someone that's top five in the world or even top 10, because they go into those matches having nothing to lose,” said Sharapova. She spoke with feeling, having been ousted by Rawanska in the second round of the US Open.

This time, Sharapova will have to worry more about established threats like Davenport and Henin, but indicated that the shoulder woes which dogged last year have subsided. “I had a really good off-season, injury-free, I worked really hard,” she said. “It was great to be able to play tennis for such a long period of time without feeling concerned or worried about getting injured.”

The scouting report on Venus came from Serena. “She’s playing unbelievable,” said Serena, though sisterly loyalty means further evidence may be required. Venus’ first test is likely to be against Sania Mirza in the third round, possibly followed by the in-form Na Li or faded Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli.

Ivanovic, who recently switched to from Wilson to a Yonex racquet, has been voicing her determination to handle big situations better this year and will get a chance to test her resolve if she comes up against Venus in the quarters – the Serb put in a tight performance when the two met at the US Open last year.

As for Henin, it’s likely to be smooth sailing until the possible quarterfinal against Sharapova. The two played a thrilling three-setter lasting almost three hours in the final of the season-ending Sony Ericsson WTA Championships. But then again, there’s no such thing as a simple Grand Slam quarterfinal for Henin these days.