photo: Henry Weidemann

Jelena is 7th-seeded player in next week's Internationali BNL d'Italia in Rome. In the past, Jelena played great tennis in Rome, which happens to be her favourite city. Jelena also won the title here twice, back in 2007 and 2008. This year, Jelena has a very favourable draw and a nice opportunity to get at least to the semifinals.

Jelena is at the bottom half of the draw and she received a first round bye. In the second round Jelena will play against either Mattek-Sands or Melanie Oudin. There is also a potential clash with Belgian 11th-seed Yanina Wickmayer in the 3rd round. In the quarterfinals Jelena could face Venus Williams, while the big names for potential semifinal clash are Vera Zvonareva, Samantha Stosur, Svetlana Kuznetsova or the world number 1 Serena Williams.

Last year, Jelena got kicked out of the tournament in the quarterfinals, and this year she has 225 points to defend.

Click here to check out the draw.