Anchor: The first Grand Slam tournament of this season, the Australian Open 2008, will begin Monday in Melbourne. China has four women's singles players and two pairs playing in women's doubles in the tournament. CRI's Australian correspondent Chen Feng is in Melbourne to cover the event.

Reporter: Yuan Meng will become the only Chinese player to set foot on the court on the first day of the Australian Open. She currently ranks one hundred twenty-first in the world, and has entered the tournament after her qualifying round win. The 21-year-old was stopped short in the second round last year, and will face Ekaterina Ivanova from Russia on Monday morning.

China's best-ranked players, Li Na, Peng Shuai and Yan Zi, will take to the court on the second day of the first round of play. Li Na, who now ranks twenty-fourth in the world, recently claimed the title at the Australian Women's Hard Court Tennis Championships in the Gold Coast, Queensland, and she is now considered to hold the most promise among the Chinese singles players.

Li Na last played in Birmingham, England in June, but suffered a rib injury that forced her to sit out the rest of 2007. A quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 2006, she hopes to continue into the second week of this tournament.

The Chinese doubles team of Zheng Jie and Yan Zi, the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champions, just won the cup at the International Women's Tennis Championships on Friday in Sydney, and now ranks first in the world. Another pair, Sun Tiantian and Peng Shuai, will also play in the tournament.

From the international side, defending champion Serena Williams and top-ranked Justine Henin will both play in women's singles on the first day. On the men's side, Roger Federer, who is bidding to win his third consecutive Australian Open title, has a bye on the first day, while his main rival, second-ranked Rafael Nadal, will play in a night session on Monday.

Chen Feng, CRI news, Melbourne.