Tennis: Strong field unveiled for ASB Classic

One of the strongest - and most even - fields in the Auckland women's tennis open history was unveiled yesterday, with all eight seeds ranked within the world's top 30.

Two of the top three seeds for the ASB Classic are Italian. World No 12 Flavia Pannetta was confirmed as the top seed, while countrywoman Francesca Schiavone (17) is the third seed. The Italian pair are split by Chinese world No 15 Li Na, the only non-European seed.

Former finalists Elena Vesnina and Aravane Rezai are also seeded, as is Anabel Medina Garrigues, the Spaniard who was seeded third this year but departed in the second round.

It is just the second time a tournament at the Classic's International series level has had all eight seeds inside the top 30 of the rankings.

Unseeded players to look for include French teenager Alize Cornet, whose ranking has slid to 50 from 11 in February this year, Indian star Sania Mirza and former top-five ranked Russian Anna Chakvetadze.

Tournament director Brenda Perry described it as the best field ever assembled.

"This is an incredibly strong field with a number of rising stars, current and former top 20 players along with a good mix of new and familiar faces."