BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Spanish teenage sensation Rafael Nadal will defend his China Open crown, with Lindsay Davenport of the United States to lead the women's event, tournament organizers announced on Friday.

    Nadal, who beat Argentina's Guillermo Coria in the final last year, said he was looking forward to returning to the Chinese capital for the tournament beginning on September 11.

    "I like the China Open. The fans treated me very well last year and I'm glad I was able to play some good tennis for them," the world number two said in a statement.

    "I think Beijing is a fantastic city and I'm delighted to be coming back. I just hope I have more time for sightseeing this time because last year I was playing almost every day."

    Coria, currently ranked number nine in the ATP tour, will also return to Beijing for the Sept. 9-16 event, with Russian world number six Nikolay Davydenko also in the line-up.

    In the women's event, which takes place a week after the men's tournament, Davenport will be joined by Belgium's Henin-Hardenne and 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.

    The China Open, which enters its third edition this year, has combined prize money of 1.1 million US dollars. Enditem