World number one Justine Henin-Hardenne is hot favourite to complete a Gulf double at the WTA Qatar Open, which starts on Monday.

Henin-Hardenne beat Russian teenager Svetlana Kuznetsova [ Images ] to retain her the Dubai Open crown on Saturday, her third title of the year.

In the absence of Wimbledon [ Images ] champion Serena Williams [ Images ], who withdrew from the tournament because of illness, and injured world number three Amelie Mauresmo [ Images ] of France [ Images ], Henin-Hardenne's main rival should be second seed Jennifer Capriati [ Images ].

The draw, held on Saturday, was kind to Henin-Hardenne. The Belgian, unbeaten this year, has a first-round bye and is then drawn to meet either world number 39 Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela or a qualifier.

The 21-year-old's quarter-final opponent could be eighth-seeded Magui Serna with a possible semi-final clash against Japan's [ Images ] Ai Sugiyama [ Images ].

In contrast, defending champion Anastasia Myskina [ Images ] of Russia [ Images ] faces a harder task in the bottom half of the draw which also includes Capriati, Jelena Dokic [ Images ], Silvia Farina Elia and last year's beaten finalist Elena Likhovtseva.

"It's a tough draw for me, but then the Doha tournament itself has grown in its stature. It's a Tier II event and the participation of more highly-ranked players was expected," Myskina said.

"I did not play to my potential in Dubai [ Images ] where I crashed out in the quarter-finals. I could have done better. I hope to do better here, certainly better than the quarter-finals," the 22-year-old added.