Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) – Five-time champion Serena Williams
is the top seed at the Australian Open, which will commence Monday in
Melbourne.
The world No. 1 great is followed by former champion, two-time Aussie runner-
up and reigning French Open titlist Maria Sharapova, French Open runner-up
Simona Halep, Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova and former Aussie runner-up Ana
Ivanovic. There are three current or former world No. 1s among the top-five
seeds — Williams, Sharapova and Ivanovic.
Seeds six through 10 are former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska,
last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard, U.S. Open runner-up Caroline
Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Ekaterina Makarova. Last year’s Aussie runner-
up to Li Na, Dominika Cibulkova, is seeded 11th at the fortnight. Li retired
from the WTA late last season.
Former No. 1 Venus Williams, fresh off her title in Auckland last week, is
seeded 18th in Melbourne, while two-time Aussie champ Victoria Azarenka will
not be seeded Down Under.
The draw will be announced on Friday.
