she told the WTA Tour 's official Web site Dementieva went into the match against Williams having been handed a potential second-round clash with former world No. 1 Justine Henin , who pulled out of the Sydney event as a precaution after suffering a leg injury in her comeback tournament in Brisbane . Seven-time Grand Slam winner Henin , handed a wildcard after a 20-month retirement , will start against unseeded fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens on Monday while fifth seed Dementieva plays fellow Russian Vera Dushevina . Both have avoided the Williams sisters , who are in the top half of the draw with Serena opening against Poland 's Urszula Radwanska on Tuesday and sixth seed Venus taking on Czech Lucie Safarova . Four-time winner Serena could face seventh seed Victoria Azarenka in the last eight , with a possible semifinal against her older sibling looming . Last year 's losing finalist Safina opens against world No. 44 Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia , and could face fellow Russian Maria Sharapova in the fourth round . Sharapova , the 2008 champion but seeded 14th after struggling with shoulder problems last year , begins with a glamour clash against compatriot and fellow
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- World No. 1 Serena Williams ' preparations for her Australian Open title defense suffered a late blip when she was beaten in the final of the Sydney International by Elena Dementieva on Friday . The American , who had struggled past unseeded Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai in three sets in the semifinals when she appeared to injure her left leg , lost 6-3 6-2 to suffer her fifth defeat in her last eight clashes with the Russian . `` I was struggling a little bit , but she definitely deserves all the credit , '' Williams told reporters . `` It 's definitely not ligament problems . It 's just a little pain but the strapping usually helps the pain go away . '' Dementieva , who beat world No. 2 Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals , successfully defended her title in the final event before the first Grand Slam tournament of this decade starts on Monday . `` It 's great to play against the best players in the world , especially going into a Grand Slam . It was a great experience and it 'll help me next week at the Australian Open , ''