Hewitt, Serena top seeded

Australian Lleyton Hewitt tops the seedings at his home Grand Slam for the second successive year, tournament officials announced on Wednesd...

Australian Lleyton Hewitt tops the seedings at his home Grand Slam for the second successive year, tournament officials announced on Wednesday.

The world No.1 becomes the first home-grown male player to top the seedings in back-to-back years here since tennis turned professional in 1968.

Australian Open Seedings

Men: 1. Lleyton Hewitt (Aus), 2. Andre Agassi (USA), 3. Marat Safin (Rus), 4. Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spa), 5. Carlos Moya (Spa), 6. Roger Federer

(Swi), 7. Jiri Novak (Cze), 8. Albert Costa (Spa), 9. Andy Roddick (USA), 10. David Nalbandian (Arg), 11. Paradorn Srichaphan (Tha), 12. Sebastien Grosjean (Fra), 13. Fernando Gonzalez (Chi), 14. Guillermo Canas (Arg), 15. Alex Corretja (Spa), 16. Sjeng Schalken (Ned), 17. Gaston Gaudio (Arg), 18. Younes el Aynaoui (Mar), 19. Juan Ignacio Chela (Arg), 20. Xavier Malisse (Bel), 21. Andrei Pavel (Rom), 22. Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Rus), 23. James Blake (USA ), 24. Nicolas Lapentti (Ecu), 25. Mikhail Youzhny (Rus), 26. Tommy Robredo (Spa), 27. Jan-Michael Gambill (USA), 28. Fabrice Santoro (Fra), 29. Nicolas Escude (fra), 30. Gustavo Kuerten (Bra), 31. Rainer Schuettler (Ger), 32. Stefan Koubek (AUT).
Women: 1. Serena Williams (USA), 2. Venus Williams (USA), 3. Jennifer Capriati (USA), 4. Kim Clijsters (Bel), 5. Justine Henin-Hardenne (Bel), 6. Monica Seles (USA), 7. Daniela Hantuchova (Svk), 8. Anastasia Myskina (Rus), 9. Lindsay Davenport (USA), 10. Chanda Rubin (USA), 11. Magdalena Maleeva (Bul), 12. Patty Schnyder (Swi), 13. Silvia Farina Elia (Ita), 14. Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi (Isr), 15. Alexandra Stevenson (USA), 16. Nathalie Dechy (Fra), 17. Elena Dementieva (Rus), 18. Eleni Daniilidou (Gre), 19. Amanda Coetzer (Rsa), 20. Elena Bovina (Rus), 21. Ai Sugiyama (Jpn), 22. Anne Kremer (Lux), 23. Paola Suarez (Arg), 24. Tatiana Panova (Rus), 25. Meghann Shaughnessy (USA), 26. Tamarine Tanasugarn (Tha), 27. Lisa Raymond (USA), 28. Clarisa Fernandez (Arg), 29. Iva Majoli (Cro), 30. Janette Husarova (Svk), 31. Conchita Martinez (Spa), 32. Katarina Srebontik (Slo).

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Last year he became the first top seed to lose in the first round of the men’s singles and will be eager to set the record straight this time round when the tournament begins on January 13.

Hewitt finished last year ranked No.1 in the world and captured his second successive Tennis Masters Cup title in Shanghai in November to add to his Wimbledon title won in July. Three-times Open champion Andre Agassi missed last year when he withdrew on the eve of the tournament with a wrist injury.

Spain is again well represented through Masters Cup finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero in fourth spot and Hewitt nemesis Carlos Moya in fifth, reigning French Open Champion Albert Costa in eighth and former world No.2 Alex Corretja (15) and Tommy Robredo (26).

In the women’s draw Blake’s American Hopman Cup team mate Serena Williams tops the seedings for the first time in Melbourne. The winner of the last three grand slam titles of 2002 is hoping to capture her first Australian Open crown and in doing so claim what she has christened the ‘Serena Slam’.(Reuters)