BEIJING, July 28(Xinhuanet)-- French Open champion Rafael Nadal and world number one Lindsay Davenport will lead a star-studded field in the China Open ATP and WTA tournament this fall, organizers said here on Thursday.

Teenage Nadal joins a list of top male players at the ATP event, including reigning Australian Open champion and defending China Open champion Marat Safin, former world number one Carlos Moya, fellow Spanish clay-court specialist Juan Carlos Ferrero andGuillermo Coria of Argentina.

In the women's pool, seven-time grand slam champion Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams, the winner of five grand slam events, will try to rock Davenport's dominance. Also on board are Russian trio Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva.

"This year's China Open will be a great leap forward from last year as more world top players have confirmed their participation," said Ekkehard Rathgeber, chief operator of the China Open.

"Though this year is only the second edition of the tournament, our goal is to develop this event into one of the world's fifth grand slam event behind the Australian Open, the French Open, the Wimbledon Open and the American Open," he added.

The tournament, slated for September 10-25, will be played on hardcourt at the Beijing Tennis Center. It includes men's, women's, juniors' and seniors' brackets, with a total prize money 1.10 million US dollars.

China is attracting a growing number of top-rate sports events in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Enditem