Serena Williams No. 1 going into Madrid Open

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., May 6 (UPI) -- Serena Williams puts her No. 1 ranking and Mutua Madrid Open title on the line this week.

Williams was No. 9 in the world rankings going into the 2012 Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event on the WTA calendar. She swept through the tournament, losing just one set and beating three Top 10 players -- Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova and, in the finals, Victoria Azarenka.

Williams has been dominant this year, going 25-2 and winning three titles, giving her 49 WTA championships in her career. Even though the Madrid field is strong -- every player in the WTA Top 20 was entered -- Williams is a strong favorite to repeat as champion.

No. 5-ranked Li Na and 12th-ranked Roberta Vinci, however, were first-round losers as the tournament began play during the weekend.

There were no changes in the Top 10 this week and neither No. 19 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova nor No. 23 Carla Suarez Navarro saw their rankings change even though they played in the finals Saturday at Portugal Open. Pavlyuchenkova won 7-5, 6-2.

Williams has 11,115 points and Sharapova is second with 10,240. Azarenka has 9,130 points for the No. 3 spot. Agnieszka is fourth with 6,845 and Li entered the tournament with 6,000 points.

Angelique Kerber is sixth with 5,420 points, 150 points up on No. 7 Sara Errani with eighth-ranked Petra Kvitova (5,225) also close behind. Samantha Stosur has 3,790 points for ninth and Wozniacki, with 3,760 points, is 10th.