Born: 03/03/84 Nationality: Swiss Seeded: 32 World ranking: 34 US Open best: 1st round Recent record: 2002: 1st round 2001: 1st round 2000: N/A

Mikaelian has taken over Martina Hingis' mantle as Switzerland's number one player.

Still only 19, she has already cracked the world's top 50 and picked up her first title in Tashkent last year.

This year, she has continued her steady improvement, beginning by reaching the final at Gold Coast at the beginning of the year with a semi-final win over top seed Patty Schnyder.

She won her first match at Wimbledon in her debut and at the beginning of the US hard court season, she reached the quarter-finals in Stanford - losing only to top seed Kim Clijsters.

A right wrist sprain has kept her out of action since then, but she will be bidding for a first match win at the US Open.