Sydney: She might be in red-hot form but defending champion Saina Nehwal will look to keep her guard up when she begins her campaign at the USD 750,000 Australian Open badminton tournament, which gets underway with the qualifiers, here today.


Saina Nehwal. Pic/AFP 

A year back, Olympic bronze medallist Saina had beaten Spaniard Carolina Marin to clinch her first Super Series crown in 20 months, after coming out on top in the Denmark Open in October 2012. However, this year, Saina is coming into the tournament with some steller performances which saw her clinch the India Super Series and Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold title, a runners-up finish at the All England Championships and eventually becoming the first India to grab the World No. 1 crown.