Clijsters, the second seed, started the season in tremendous form, defeating world number one Davenport in Hong Kong before a hip injury forced her out of the Sydney International last week and upset her Open plans.

She is still trying to overcome the pain but remains confident she can start her first round match against South Korea's Cho Yoon-jeong on Tuesday.

"I had my first hit this morning," she said Sunday. "Hopefully, it will get better. I guess it's just a little wear and tear from over the years. I'm very happy I got a Tuesday start, that's helped me out a little bit more."

Clijsters, 22, hit the best form of her career in 2005, claiming a WTA-best nine tournaments, pushing her up to second in the world rankings and making her a favourite in Melbourne.

Her injury is good news for Davenport, although the strength of women's tennis is such that any one of half a dozen players are able to confidently consider themselves in with a serious shout.

All the top 20 stars are here with no major injury casualties outside of Clijsters, with defending champion Serena Williams saying she is fine despite pulling out of the Champions Challenge in Hong Kong with an inflammed left knee.

Many will be dreaming of a fairytale comeback for triple champion Martina Hingis, but a more realistic achievement for the Swiss Miss would be to make it into the second week.

Hingis is upbeat ahead of her opening game Tuesday against 30th seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

After early concerns that the Williams sisters were struggling with injuries, both have declared themselves fit although Serena looks out of condition.

France's Mary Pierce is the dark horse.

Eleven years after winning here, she is back with renewed confidence after launching herself once more into the elite realm by reaching two Grand Slam finals last year, as well as chalking a runner-up spot at the WTA Championships.

Maria Sharapova is also a hot bet, and believes she can start the new year on a positive note after recovering from a shoulder injury, building on her stellar 2005 when she reached at least the quarterfinals at 15 events.

Others to watch out for include Justine Henin-Hardenne, who won the Sydney International warm-up tournament, Frenchwoman and third seed Amelie Mauresmo, and Asian hope Sania Mirza of India.