Who will qualify for the main draw?

PREDICTING the outcome of qualifying draws at Grand Slam levels is by no means the easiest of tasks. It would take a brave person to put a substantial amount of money on a player in the qualifying draw as the outcome rarely complements the form-book. In 2009, only one of the top-12 seeded players progressed to the main-draw and less than half of the top-seeds made it through the qualifying rounds last year. However, here are the forerunners to make next week's main draw at the Australian Open.

First section

TWO months after her appearance in the final of Fed Cup for the USA, Coco Vandeweghe is the No.1 seed in qualifying but the teenager has struggled to find any form since that tough baptism in November. Her section includes Olga Savchuk from Ukraine and Sesil Karatantcheva from Kazakhstan, who are highly experienced at this level of competition, along with the No.13 seed Misaki Doi from Japan. 15-year-old Russian Irina Khromacheva, who trains at Justine Henin's academy, makes her Grand Slam debut as a wild-card.

Second section

BRITISH No.1 Anne Keothavong must be fairly satisfied with her draw. After a dearth in form last summer which led to her contemplating her future in the sport, the No.2 seed staged a resurgence during the indoor season and started her 2011 campaign with a second-round showing in Auckland. Her main rivals include Raluca Olaru from Romania and No.17 seed Tatjana Malek from Germany.

Third section

HAVING been sidelined by a plethora of injuries in the past eighteen months, Sabine Lisicki is attempting to rebuild her ranking. The German, who has defeated Dinara Safina, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki in her career, is currently languishing at No.156 in the rankings and even though the 21-year-old started her season with a second round showing in Auckland, Lisicki has a tough draw. Her first round opponent is the No.22 seed Michaella Krajicek, who has also had her fair share of injuries, before a potential clash with last year's Wimbledon junior champion Karolina Pliskova in the third round.

Fourth section

KATIE O'BRIEN made the second round in the main-draw last year which means the British No.4 needs a strong showing to maintain her top-200 ranking. Her first round opponent will be Mandy Minella from Luxembourg, who reached the third round of the US Open last year.

Fifth section

OFT-INJURED Sania Mirza enjoyed a return to form in her adopted home of Dubai last December where she defeated a competitive field for a noteworthy ITF title. Seeded No.24, the Indian is starting to produce better results on a consistent basis and starts as the leading protagonist from this section.

Sixth section

NOBODY really stands out in this section except for Zarina Diyas from Kazakhstan, who ousted former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow last year. Irina Falconi, who qualified for the main-draw of last year's US Open as a wild-card, can't be discounted though.

Seventh section

AFTER reaching the third round at the French Open last year, a succession of injuries slowed Anastasia Pivovarova's progress but the Russian started her season by qualifying for the main-draw in Brisbane. The section also includes Eleni Daniilidou from Greece, who double-bagelled Pivovarova at Wimbledon qualifying last year, but on hard-courts a much closer match will be expected.

Eighth section

LAST year's junior winner Karolina Pliskova is in the draw, along with another up-and-comer in Jamie Hampton from the USA, who was the in-form player on the US ITF circuit last year.

Ninth section

DOUBLES specialist Nuria Llagostera Vives from Spain is no longer a consistent direct-entrant into Grand Slams but the 30-year-old qualified for the main-draw at three Grand Slams last year. Petra Martic and Alja Tomljanovic, both up-and-comers from Croatia, are also favoured.

Tenth section

No.10 seed Kurumi Nara from Japan and No.18 seed Arantxa Rus are the standout names from a weak section.

Eleventh section

HAN XINJUN from China successfully qualified last year and took Samantha Stosur to three-sets in the main-draw and the No.11 seed will be seeking a repeat performance although Kathrin Woerle from Germany has a good record at Melbourne Park.

Twelfth section

AS if Heather Watson's draw wasn't tough enough, the last-minute withdrawal of Zhou Yi-Miao has presented an even tougher proposition as the Chinese has been replaced by Kristina Mladenovic from France, who looked in very good shape at last week's Hopman Cup in Perth. Things won't get any easier as Watson could face Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele in the second qualifying round, before Urszula Radwanska from Poland in the final round.