Under mostly cloudy skies and in front of a good crowd, the final qualifying rounds were disputed today at the Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto.

You may be wondering about the rather cumbersome name with which the women's Canadian Open is saddled this year. The sponsor, Rogers AT&T Wireless, is a Canadian mobile communications company operated by Rogers Communications of Toronto, but co-branded with the American telecom giant AT&T, which is a part owner of Rogers. There you have it.

While qualifying play is the main order of business on the weekend before the tournament, some of the stars of the main draw can also be seen honing their games. Jennifer Capriati, the top seed, was on the scene. Other luminaries spotted on the grounds included Jelena Dokic, practicing with the Spaniard Magui Serna, and Anke Huber. Not to mention a doubles specialist named Navratilova!

Without further ado, here are your qualifiers:

Jennifer Hopkins (#69) (def. Anastasia Myskina 6-4 4-6 6-4)

A hard-fought win over promising young Russian Myskina gives Hopkins of the U.S.A. a spot in the main draw. Hopkins, the top seed in the qualies, appeared on route for a straight-set win today when leading 6-4 4-2, but the Russian stormed back with four straight games to force a decider. Hopkins rode the only break of serve in the third set, in game five, to victory.

Irina Selyutina (#139) (def. Shinobu Asagoe 6-1 6-2)

An impressive weekend for Selyutina, as the native of Kazakhstan beat two higher-ranked players ? Katarina Srebotnik and Asagoe ? without dropping a set. Selyutina was a top ten singles player in the junior ranks, and was half of the top junior doubles team in her adolescent years alongside Cara Black. However, Irina has yet to penetrate the top 100 in singles as a pro. Note that Asagoe is also into main draw as a lucky loser, thanks to the injury withdrawal of Conchita Martinez.

Marissa Irvin (#99) (def. Evie Dominikovic 6-7(6) 6-0 6-3)

Irvin, a former university tennis champion in the U.S., earned her qualification in a spirited triumph over the favoured "Evie D.", the third qualifying seed. Following Kristina Brandi's withdrawal, Dominikovic also joins the draw as a lucky loser.

Selima Sfar (#80) (def. Silvija Talaja 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4)

This was the best match of the day, a high-quality affair between two players with appealing games. Tunisia's Sfar, the first North African player to ever reach the top 100, had beaten Talaja in Dubai this year, when Sfar was ranked #136 and Talaja was #40. Since then their fortunes have gone in opposite directions, and the Tunisian now holds the higher ranking. The elegant Talaja used her smooth but potent double-fisted backhand to take the first set, but the athletic and offensive-minded Sfar took co ntrol in the second set tie-break, then employed her repeated net attacks and biting slice backhand to good effect to close out the match.

If you are looking for a net-rushing heroine to break up the tedium of the baseline-dominated women's game, you may want to adopt 24-year-old Selima Sfar. The 5' 5" Tunisian is a protégée of French veteran Nathalie Tauziat, and she has adopted of her mentor's propensity to rush forward and conclude points with volleys. Selima does not serve and volley nearly as much as Tauziat, but likes to work her way to the net and is fond of coming in behind second serve returns. Several times today she hit drop sho t second serve returns that she followed to the net, a rare tactic that Sfar used to good effect. With better than average speed, solid baseline shots, excellent fitness and an intense on-court attitude (she also shares Tauziat's habit of berating herself loudly in French), Sfar shows all the signs of establishing herself as a late bloomer in the top 50.

Mashona Washington (#176) (def. Lucie Ahl 7-6(6) 6-1)

A good job by MaliVai's little sis to qualify here. The American broke open a tight match, terminating the second set with five consecutive games to close out her fading British opponent.

Wynne Prakusya (#130) (def. Sandra Cacic 5-2 ret.)

A short day for the 20-year-old Indonesian prospect, as Prakusya profited from a left knee injury to the hard-hitting Cacic. Prakusya is coming off a nice week in Los Angeles, where she caught a break by replacing Anna Kournikova as a lucky loser and getting a bye into the second round. Prakusya went on to reach the third round by toppling Italian veteran Rita Grande for the biggest win in her pro career so far. Today the Indonesian played long enough to show us her excellent speed and retrievin g skills, as well as a surprisingly potent forehand.

Adriana Serra-Zanetti (#107) (def. Marie-Ève Pelletier 6-3 2-6 6-4)

Adriana, the elder and higher-ranked of Italy's Serra-Zanetti sisters, was facing the last Canadian qualifying hope in front of a large pro-Pelletier crowd. The teenager from Quebec showed lots of spunk and powerful groundstrokes to battle her more experienced opponent deep into the third set. However, serving to stay in the match at 4-5 in the final set, Pelletier's nerves failed her: she was betrayed by a failing first serve and a lack of precision to fall behind 0-40. Pelletier saved three match poi nts, primarily thanks to baseline errors from Serra-Zanetti. But the little Italian lefty finally sealed the deal on her fourth match point with a clean winner off her two-handed forehand.

The tournament begins in earnest tomorrow. Stay with us as On The Line follows the action all week from Toronto!