MEN'S SEEDS	WOMEN'S SEEDS
- Pick a Seed - 1) Lleyton Hewitt 2) Andre Agassi 3) Marat Safin 4) Juan Carlos Ferrero 5) Carlos Moya 6) Roger Federer 7) Jiri Novak 8) Albert Costa 9) Andy Roddick 10) David Nalbandian 11) Paradorn Srichaphan 12) Sebastien Grosjean 13) Fernando Gonzalez 14) Guillermo Canas 15) Alex Corretja 16) Sjeng Schalken	- Pick a Seed - 1) Serena Williams 2) Venus Williams 3) Jennifer Capriati 4) Kim Clijsters 5) Justine Henin-Hardenne 6) Monica Seles 7) Daniela Hantuchova 8) Anastasia Myskina 9) Lindsay Davenport 10) Chanda Rubin 11) Magdalena Maleeva 12) Patty Schnyder 13) Silvia Farina Elia 14) Anna Pistolesi 15) Alexandra Stevenson 16) Nathalie Dechy

 

Birthdate: September 26, 1981 Nationality: United States Height: 5'8" Weight: 130 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 19

Serena Williams (1) Scouting Report Dominated the WTA Tour in 2002 and finished as the top-ranked player for the first time in her career; after missing the Australian Open with a right ankle injury, won the other three Grand Slams, defeating older sister Venus in the finals in each; is the first player since Martina Hingis in 1997 to win three of the four majors in one year; led the WTA Tour in titles with eight, one more than Venus; reached 10 finals in 13 events; her 15 straight-set Grand Slam match winning streak is the most dominant since Steffi Graf's 20 in 1988; only loss in her last four majors was a final setback to Venus in the 2001 U.S. Open; attempting to be first to win four consecutive majors since Graf in 1993-94; best result in four previous appearances at the Australian Open was a quarterfinal in 2001; made 2003 debut at the season-opening Hopman Cup, leading the United States to the title with James Blake; went 4-0 in round-robin action and the finals.

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Birthdate: June 17, 1980 Nationality: United States Height: 6'1" Weight: 160 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 28

Venus Williams (2) Scouting Report Would have been best player on tour in 2002 if not for younger sister Serena; lost the No. 1 ranking and the finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open to her sibling; had been the two-time defending champion at the All-England Club and New York; reached a tour-leading 11 finals in 2002, winning seven, the last coming at New Haven in August; earned the No. 1 for the first time in her career in 2002, holding the position on three separate occassions for a total of 11 weeks; has not lost before the quarterfinals in all four previous visits to Melbourne; did not play a lead-up tournament.

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Birthdate: March 29, 1976 Nationality: United States Height: 5'8" Weight: 134 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 13

Jennifer Capriati (3) Scouting Report Trying to win three Australian Open crowns in a row, becoming the 10th woman to claim more than two titles at the event; has not won a tournament since becoming sixth woman in Open Era to defend at the Australian Open in 2002, when she saved four match points in final against Martina Hingis; lost to Serena Williams in final at Scottsdale in February, Miami in March and Italian Open in May; had reached semifinals or better in six straight Grand Slams before losing in the quarterfinals to Amelie Mauresmo at Wimbledon; also lost to the Frenchwoman in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open; had third 2002 reign as No. 1 player in world end on June 10, when she fell to third behind Serena and Venus Williams; lost her only match of the year at Sydney last week.

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Birthdate: June 8, 1983 Nationality: Belgium Height: 5'8" Weight: 150 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 11

Kim Clijsters (4) Scouting Report Appears primed to win her first Grand Slam; captured her 11th career title this week at Sydney; has won 19 of her last 20 matches dating to a semifinal loss to Anastasia Myskina at Leipzig in September; since that defeat, has won at Filderstadt, Luxembourg, the season-ending event in Los Angeles - defeating Serena Williams in the final - and at Sydney; also beat Venus Williams to win Hamburg last May; advanced to the semifinals of last year's Australian Open and rose to a career-high No. 3 in the rankings as a result; has steadily improved showings at Melbourne, having reached the fourth round in 2001 and the quarterfinals a year later; was a finalist at the French Open in 2001; lost to Jennifer Capriati 12-10 in the longest set in Roland Garros final history.

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Birthdate: June 1, 1982 Nationality: Belgium Height: 5'5" Weight: 126 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 6

Justine Henin-Hardenne (5) Scouting Report Had her most consistent season to date in 2002; won her first Tier I event at the German Open in May, beating Serena Williams in a third-set tiebreaker, and claimed a Tier II tournament in October at Linz; appeared in four other finals but lost to either Serena or Venus Williams; also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, 's-Hertogenbosch, Leipzig, and Zurich; reached the quarterfinals at last year's Australian Open - her best career effort at Melbourne; best Grand Slam was at 2001 Wimbledon, where she lost to Venus Williams in three sets; was a semifinalist at the French Open in 2001; made season debut at Sydney, advancing to the semifinals; married Pierre-Yves Hardenne at home in Belgium last November.

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Birthdate: December 2, 1973 Nationality: United States Height: 5'10" Weight: 154 Plays: Left-handed Titles: 53

Monica Seles (6) Scouting Report Winner of four Australian Open championships, including her last major in 1996; compiled a 42-3 win-loss record in Melbourne; captured nine Grand Slam titles - the most of any currently active woman; reached the semifinals or better in her first seven tournaments of 2002, defeating Venus Williams in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open; won titles at Doha and Madrid; also advanced to the quarterfinals at the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open; reached the quarterfinals or better at all four majors in one season for the first time since 1992; did not play in an official event yet this season, but won the Hong Kong exhibition two weeks ago.

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Birthdate: April 23, 1983 Nationality: Slovakia Height: 5'11 1/4" Weight: 123 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 1

Daniela Hantuchova (7) Scouting Report The 19-year-old Slovakian had a breakout season in her third full year on the WTA Tour in 2002; captured her first career singles title at Indian Wells, defeating former world No. 1 Martina Hingis in the final; is just one of five players since 1980 to win her debut singles title at a Tier I event; also runner-up at Filderstadt and a semifinalist at Eastbourne, Canadian Open, New Haven and Linz; snapped a string of losses in the second round or earlier in Grand Slams with a third-round effort at the Australian Open; appeared in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon and did the same at the U.S. Open; guided her country to its first Federation Cup triumph last year; opened the season by losing two of her three round-robin singles matches at the Hopman Cup, but reached the quarterfinals at Sydney last week.

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Birthdate: March 10, 1976 Nationality: Russia Height: 5'8 1/2" Weight: 130 1/2 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 2

Anastasia Myskina (8) Scouting Report Coming off a career year in 2002; won the second title of her career - first at a Tier II event - at Bahia, Brazil in September and reached a career-high No. 12 in the rankings; appeared in her second straight final in Leipzig after upsetting two-time defending champion Kim Clijsters in the semifinals; matched her best result at a Grand Slam event when she reached the third round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open; appeared in two other finals at Birmingham and Eastbourne and the semifinals at New Haven; qualified for the season-ending championships for the first time; lost in the second round in her Australian Open debut last season; made 2003 debut with a first-round loss at Sydney.

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Birthdate: June 8, 1976 Nationality: United States Height: 6'2 1/2" Weight: 175 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 37

Lindsay Davenport (9) Scouting Report Returns to the Australian Open after a year's absence; underwent arthroscopic surgery last January after sustaining a right knee injury at the 2001 season-ending championships; spent nine weeks on crutches and underwent intensive rehabilitation before returning to action in mid-July 2002; has gone 28-10 since her return, reaching five finals without winning a title; was runner-up last week at Sydney; owns a 38-8 mark at the Australian Open, winning in 2000; was a semifinalist in 1998, 1999 and 2001; has won two other Grand Slam crowns at the 1998 U.S. Open and 1999 Wimbledon; runner-up at 2000 Wimbledon and U.S. Open; recently split amicably from coach of seven years, Robert Van't Hof, and now working with fiance Jon Leach's older brother, Rick.

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Birthdate: February 18, 1976 Nationality: United States Height: 5'6 1/4" Weight: 128 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 5

Chanda Rubin (10) Scouting Report Return to form in 2002 after undergoing left knee surgery in mid-January; recorded the most successful week of her career at JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles last August with wins over top-ranked Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, No. 5 Jelena Dokic in the semifinals and defending champion Lindsay Davenport in the final; ranking jumped from No. 21 to No. 15; her previous best tournament victory came in July, when she defeated four top-30 players to become the second unseeded champion ever at Eastbourne; also runner-up at Madrid and a semifinalist at Zurich; reached the fourth round at Roland Garros, her best Grand Slam tournament result in two years; repeated her success at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open with two more fourth-round efforts; best result in 10 trips to the Australian Open was advancing to the semifinals in 1996; beat Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the quarterfinals that year, 6-4, 2-6, 16-14, in the longest women's match at the Australian Open, lasting three hours, 33 minutes; reached the quarterfinals at Sydney in first tournament of 2003.

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Birthdate: March 10, 1976 Nationality: Bulgaria Height: 5'6 1/4" Weight: 126 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 9

Magdalena Maleeva (11) Scouting Report Won only title of 2002 at Moscow in October, defeating Venus Williams, Amelie Mauresmo and Lindsay Davenport - the first time she beat three top-10 players in one tournament; was the fourth unseeded player in 22 years to win a Tier I title; now owns winning records against Williams (3-2) and Davenport (3-2) and is just the third player in past five years to beat them both in one tournament; also reached the final in Luxembourg; a semifinalist at Strasbourg in May; reached the fourth round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon; also recorded fourth-round finishes at Melbourne in 1991, 1993 and 1994; best result at a Grand Slam was the quarterfinals at the 1992 U.S. Open.

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Birthdate: December 14, 1978 Nationality: Switzerland Height: 5'6 1/4" Weight: 130 Plays: Left-handed Titles: 8

Patty Schnyder (12) Scouting Report Making her seventh Australian Open appearance; best result was fourth-round efforts in 1997, 1998 and 2000; captured eighth career singles title and first Tier I crown at Zurich last season with upsets of world No. 9 Daniela Hantuchova and No. 10 Lindsay Davenport; title catapulted her to No. 13, her best ranking in three years; had a stunning performance in Charleston, beating then-world No. 1 Jennifer Capriati, current No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 10 Amelia Mauresmo, Mary Pierce and Virginia Ruano Pascual before falling to Iva Majoli; only second player in the last three years to defeat Williams and Capriati in one tournament; also reached the semifinal at Antwerp and quarterfinals at six other events; reached the quarterfinals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 1998 for her best Grand Slam results; was a semifinalist at Gold Coast in 2003 debut and lost in the second round at Sydney.

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Birthdate: April 27, 1972 Nationality: Italy Height: 5'9 1/4" Weight: 150 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 2

Silvia Farina Elia (13) Scouting Report Has never advanced past the third round in any of her eight appearances at the Australian Open, reaching the third round on three occasions in 1997, 2001 and 2002; claimed her second career tournament at Strasbourg in May; had her best year in the Grand Slams, reaching the fourth round at the French and the U.S. Opens; advanced to semifinals at Tokyo and Quebec City; lost her season debut at Sydney last week.

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Birthdate: July 16, 1976 Nationality: Israel Height: 5'2" Weight: 117 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 6

Anna Pistolesi (14) Scouting Report Won a career-high four titles last season to rank among the leaders in that category; started the year with tournament victories in Auckland and Canberra and added crowns at Vienna and Shanghai; currently ranked a career-high No. 16; but success was mostly in smaller events and did not translate into strong results at Grand Slams; has lost in the first round in eight straight majors; best showings at bigger events was a semifinal finish at German Open and quarterfinals at Indian Wells, Madrid, San Diego, and Linz; advanced to the third round at the 1995 Australian Open for her best effort in Melbourne; began 2003 by reaching the semifinals at Auckland before retiring due to heat illness; married her coach, Claudio Pistolesi, last December and changed her name from Smashnova.

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Birthdate: October 15, 1981 Nationality: United States Height: 5'11" Weight: 141 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 0

Alexandra Stevenson (15) Scouting Report Made a strong comeback in 2002, obtaining a career-high ranking by finishing the season at No. 18; made five quarterfinal appearances and two finals; unseeded at Linz last October, upset Anastasia Myskina, Jennifer Capriati and Daniela Hantuchova before losing to Justine Henin-Hardenne; won first WTA Tour doubles title at Leipzig with Serena Williams; competed in all four majors since 2000; reached the semifinals at her first Wimbledon in 1999, losing to eventual champion Lindsay Davenport; was the first woman qualifier to reach the last four at the All-England Club, has not advanced beyond the second round at any other major; lost in the second round at the 2001 Australian Open; lost in the second round at Sydney last week.

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Birthdate: October 15, 1981 Nationality: France Height: 5'11" Weight: 141 Plays: Right-handed Titles: 1

Nathalie Dechy (16) Scouting Report Won the first title of her career two weeks ago at Gold Coast, but retired in the first round at Canberra due to a left thigh strain; after finishing 2001 with a ranking of No. 44, returned to the top 20 last year; reached the third round at all four majors; advanced to her biggest semifinal in three years at Scottsdale by defeating two top-20 players; her third-round showing at the Australian Open snapped a string of first-round defeats at Melbourne.

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