Thu Jan 10 11:07:43 2008

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Federer, Henin are top seeds for Aussie Open

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Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - World No. 1 stars Roger Federer and Justine Henin have been installed as the top seeds for the 2008 Australian Open, which will commence Monday at Melbourne Park.

Federer is the two-time defending champion at the Grand Slam event, while Henin claimed her lone Aussie Open title in 2004 and was the runner-up here in 2006.

The 12-time major champion Federer, who will try to become the first man to win three straight Aussie Open titles in the Open Era, beat Chilean slugger Fernando Gonzalez in last year's Aussie Open finale, while the reigning U.S. Open and French Open champion Henin missed the 2007 tournament due to personal reasons.

Following the reigning Aussie Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Federer, the other top-five seeded men are French Open champ and Wimbledon runner-up Rafael Nadal, U.S. Open finalist Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko and David Ferrer. The men's top 10 is rounded out by Andy Roddick, Fernando Gonzalez, Richard Gasquet, Andy Murray and David Nalbandian.

The seven-time major titlist Henin is followed by U.S. Open finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova. Seeds 6-through-10 among the women are Anna Chakvetadze, Serena Williams, Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, Daniela Hantuchova and Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli. Serena is the defending titlist in Melbourne, having pasted Sharapova, as a non-seed, in last year's final.

Some other notable seeds on the men's side are No. 12 James Blake and No. 19 Aussie favorite Lleyton Hewitt, the 2005 Melbourne runner-up. Some of the other notable women are No. 11 Elena Dementieva, a two-time Grand Slam event runner-up, and No. 18 Amelie Mauresmo, the 2006 Aussie Open champ.

An Aussie male hasn't captured this event since Mark Edmondson in 1976, while the last Aussie woman to run the table at this major was Chris O'Neil back in 1978.

The draws will be revealed on Friday. The top-32 women will be in the draw, while two of the top-32 men -- Tommy Haas (shoulder) and Guillermo Canas (wrist) -- will not be competing in Melbourne.