Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer seeded 1st and 2nd at Australian Open

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer leads the men’s seedings while Simona Halep is seeded No. 1 in the women’s draw with Caroline Wozniacki at No. 2 and Garbine Muguruza at No. 3.

Updated on: Jan 11, 2018, 13:38:23 IST

Associated Press, Melbourne | By Anonymous

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Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and defending champion Roger Federer have been seeded first and second for the Australian Open, meaning they can only play each other at Melbourne Park this month if they set up a rematch of last year’s final.

Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open last year and with the seeding for this year placing the two of them in different halves of the draw, another mouth-watering summit clash in Melbourne. (Getty Images)

Federer was coming off an extended injury break and was seeded 17th at last year’s Australian Open when he beat Nadal, who was seeded ninth, in five sets in the final. Grigor Dimitrov, a semifinalist here last year, is seeded third and six-time champion Novak Djokovic — coming back from a six-month injury layoff — is 14th.

The seedings for the season’s first major tournament reflected the rankings in the both singles tournaments. The draw was scheduled for later Thursday.

Serena Williams decided not to defend her Australian title, saying that just four months after having her first child that her tennis hadn’t yet returned to a level where she felt could win a Grand Slam title.

Two-time French Open finalist Simona Halep, yet to win a major, is seeded No. 1 in the women’s draw, with Caroline Wozniacki at No. 2 and Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza at No. 3.

Venus Williams, who lost the Australian final to her younger sister Serena last year, is seeded fifth. French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko is seeded No. 7 and U.S. Open winner Sloane Stephens is No. 13.

Men’s seeds:

1. Rafael Nadal (ESP), 2. Roger Federer (SUI), 3. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL), 4. Alexander Zverev (GER), 5. Dominic Thiem (AUT), 6. Marin Cilic (CRO), 7. David Goffin (BEL), 8. Jack Sock (USA), 9. Stan Wawrinka (SUI), 10. Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP), 11. Kevin Anderson (RSA), 12. Juan Martin del Potro (ARG), 13. Sam Querrey (USA), 14. Novak Djokovic (SRB), 15. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA), 16. John Isner (USA), 17. Nick Kyrgios (AUS), 18. Lucas Pouille (FRA), 19. Tomas Berdych (CZE), 20. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP), 21. Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP), 22. Milos Raonic (CAN), 23. Gilles Muller (LUX), 24. Diego Schwartzman (ARG), 25. Fabio Fognini (ITA), 26. Adrian Mannarino (FRA), 27. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER), 28. Damir Dzumhur (BIH), 29. Richard Gasquet (FRA), 30. Andrey Rublev (RUS), 31. Pablo Cuevas (URU), 32. Mischa Zverev (GER).

Women’s seeds:

1. Simona Halep (ROM), 2. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), 3. Garbine Muguruza (ESP), 4. Elina Svitolina (UKR), 5. Venus Williams (USA), 6. Karolina Pliskova (CZE), 7. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT), 8. Caroline Garcia (FRA), 9. Johanna Konta (GBR), 10. CoCo Vandeweghe (USA), 11. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA), 12. Julia Goerges (GER), 13. Sloane Stephens (USA), 14. Anastasija Sevastova (LAT), 15. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS), 16. Elena Vesnina (RUS), 17. Madison Keys (USA), 18. Ashleigh Barty (AUS), 19. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK), 20. Barbora Strycova (CZE), 21. Angelique Kerber (GER), 22. Daria Kasatkina (RUS), 23. Daria Gavrilova (AUS), 24. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK), 25. Peng Shuai (CHN), 26. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), 27. Petra Kvitova (CZE), 28. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO), 29. Lucie Safarova (CZE), 30. Kiki Bertens (NED), 31. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS), 32. Anett Kontaveit (EST)

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