The draw for the first Grand Slam of the 2013 tennis season is out, and for the first time in the Open Era (since 1968) no American man is seeded in the top 16.
You can view the Australian Open brackets here:
- Men’s singles
- Women’s singles
- Doubles brackets will be available next week.
Prior to 2001 all of the Grand Slam tournaments only seeded 16 players. The only seeded American in the men’s draw is Sam Querrey at #20.
John Isner, the world’s top ranked American man, withdrew from the tournament because of a bone bruise in his right knee.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic will look to win his third consecutive men’s singles title in Melbourne, and fourth overall. He is followed in the seedings by 4-time Aussie Open champ (and 17-time Grand Slam champ) Roger Federer, and last year’s Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Open winner Andy Murray.
Americans fare better in the women’s draw. Serena Williams is seeded third, behind Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, two players she hasn’t had much trouble with lately. Serena went 7-0 against the world’s top two players last year, only dropping one set in seven matches.
American Varvara Lepchenko is seeded #21; and Venus Williams is #25. 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens, thanks to an impressive performance at the Brisbane International, is seeded #29. She is the youngest seeded player in the women’s draw.
19-year-old American Sloane Stephens has been climbing the world ranking and is seeded #29 at the Australian Open. (AFP photo)
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