Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams given top seeds at Australian Open

The 32 seeds released for the Australian Open, beginning Monday, were released on Wednesday. Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer follow Nadal, with Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova behind Williams.

Rafael Nadal trains in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open on Wednesday. Julian Smith / EPA

Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia // As expected, No 1-ranked Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams have been made the top seeds at the Australian Open which begins on Monday at Melbourne Park.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic is the No 2-seeded man, followed by David Ferrer, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro and 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer at sixth.

On the women’s side, defending champion Victoria Azarenka is No 2, followed by Maria Sharapova, Li Na, Agnieszka Radwanska and former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in sixth.

The 32 seeds were only altered twice from the rankings, both because of injuries. No 29-ranked Jurgen Melzer is not playing due to a left shoulder injury and Maria Kirilenko, who would have been seeded 18th, has a left knee injury.

Seedings:

Men

1 – Rafael Nadal, Spain; 2 – Novak Djokovic, Serbia; 3 – David Ferrer, Spain; 4 – Andy Murray, Britain; 5 – Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina; 6 – Roger Federer, Switzerland; 7 – Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic; 8 – Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland; 9 – Richard Gasquet, France; 10 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France; 11 – Milos Raonic, Canada; 12 – Tommy Haas, Germany; 13 – Nicolas Almagro, Spain; 14 – John Isner, United States; 15 – Mikhail Youzhny, Russia; 16 – Fabio Fognini, Italy; 17 – Kei Nishikori, Japan; 18 – Tommy Robredo, Spain; 19 – Gilles Simon, France; 20 – Kevin Anderson, South Africa; 21 – Jerzy Janowicz, Poland; 22 – Phillipp Kohlschreiber, Germany; 23 – Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria; 24 – Ernests Gulbis, Latvia; 25 – Andreas Seppi, Italy; 26 – Gael Monfils, France; 27 – Feliciano Lopez, Spain; 28 – Benoit Paire, France; 29 – Vasek Pospisil, Canada; 30 – Jeremy Chardy, France; 31 – Dmitry Tursunov, Russia; 32 – Fernando Verdasco, Spain.

Women

1 – Serena Williams, United States; 2 – Victoria Azarenka, Belarus; 3 – Maria Sharapova, Russia; 4 – Li Na, China; 5 – Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland; 6 – Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic; 7 – Sara Errani, Italy; 8 – Jelena Jankovic, Serbia; 9 – Angelique Kerber, Germany; 10 – Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark; 11 – Simona Halep, Romania; 12 – Roberta Vinci, Italy; 13 – Sloane Stephens, United States; 14 – Ana Ivanovic, Serbia; 15 – Sabine Lisicki, Germany; 16 – Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain; 17 – Sam Stosur, Australia; 18 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgium; 19 – Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia; 20 – Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia; 21 – Sorana Cirstea, Romania; 22 – Ekaterina Makarova, Russia; 23 – Elena Vesnina, Russia; 24 – Kaia Kanepi, Estonia; 25 – Alize Cornet, France; 26 – Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic; 27 – Jamie Hampton, United States; 28 – Flavia Pennetta, Italy; 29 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia; 30 – Eugenie Bouchard, Canada; 31 – Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia; 32 – Magdalena Rybarikova, Slovakia.

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