World number one Roger Federer and women's number one Lindsay Davenport have been named the top seeds for next week's Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. Organizers stuck to the world rankings when issuing the seedings Thursday.
On the men's side, American Andy Roddick is the second seed after world number two Rafael Nadal pulled out with a foot injury. Local favorite Lleyton Hewitt of Australia is seeded third. David Nalbandian of Argentina is seeded fourth with Russian Nikolay Davydenko fifth.
Defending champion Marat Safin of Russia and former champ Andre Agassi of the United States are sidelined with injuries.
In the women's draw, Kim Clijsters of Belgium is seeded second with Amelie Mauresmo of France seeded third. Former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova is seeded fourth and former champion Mary Pierce of France is the fifth seed.
French Open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium is seeded eighth with Wimbledon champion Venus Williams 10th. The tournament starts Monday in Melbourne.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.