The absence of former champions Steffi Graf and Monica Seles and the late withdrawal of American Venus Williams have done little to detract from another intriguing battle between the world's top women at next week's Australian Open.
Indeed the first Grand Slam of the new millennium is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in years with the women's competition threatening to overshadow the men's in terms of drama and controversy.
Martina Hingis, the world number one and defending champion, is once again the centre of attention both on and off the court.
Hingis claimed her third straight crown when she beat France's Amelie Mauresmo in last year's final but little has gone right for her since then - even losing yesterday 7-5 6-3 to Mauresmo in the Sydney International semi-final - in a clumsy fall from grace.
She was beaten in the first round at Wimbledon after falling out with her mother Melanie then lost the U.S. Open final to Serena Williams.
Her one saving grace was that she still managed to finish the year on top of the rankings and she is hoping for a better time in 2000.
Fitter and slimmer than at the start of previous seasons, Davenport looms as Hingis's biggest danger. The old stagers such as Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Conchita Martinez and Mary Pierce have all reentered and can never be discarded as Open chances.
For Pete Sampras it is a place where history awaits, while Andre Agassi calls it simply a "sweet court".
Sampras, hoping to eclipse Australian Roy Emerson and become the first man to win 13 grand slam singles titles, says he is fresher than he has been in years.
Agassi, with girlfriend and former women's world number one Steffi Graf at his side, is keen to build on the triumphs of 1999 when he won the French and U.S. Open crowns and became only the fifth man to win all four grand slam titles in his career.
Agassi and Sampras, the third seed, are both placed in the powerful top half of the draw and could meet in the semi-finals.
Sampras, 28, won Wimbledon and four other tournaments in 1999 but was hampered for much of the time by injury. Significantly, he finished the year on a high by outplaying Agassi in the final of the ATP Tour world championship in Hanover, Germany, in November. The prospect of faster courts at the Open are expected to favour the likes of defending champion and second seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Philippoussis, Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands and Enqvist.
