Federer, Mauresmo top seeds at Key Biscayne

World number one Federer. - AFP

Florida - World number one Roger Federer and women's number two Amelie Mauresmo of France were named top seeds here Monday for the WTA and ATP Masters Series tournament that begins here Wednesday.

But the main rivals on both the men's and women's sides, second-ranked Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and women's world number one Lindsay Davenport of the United States, are absent from the US$6.5 million hardcourt showdown.

Hewitt withdrew Monday with a toe injury while Davenport is absent after losing to Belgium's Kim Clijsters in the finals at Indian Wells last Saturday.

Hewitt, 24, suffered his injury on Saturday at the Indian Wells ATP event in a semi-final victory over American Andy Roddick. Swiss world number one Roger Federer beat Hewitt 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday's final.

Hewitt won his fourth consecutive title at Sydney in January and reached the Australian Open final, where Russia's Marat Safin foiled his bid to become the first Aussie in 29 years to claim the Australian Open crown.

Andre Agassi, who was forced to withdraw Friday at Indian Wells with an inflamed toe, will play here, as will third seed Serena Williams and her eighth seed sister Venus, a US duo who could meet in the Key Biscayne quarter-finals.

Byes for the top seeds on both sides will keep most of the big names off the match courts until the weekend.

Following Swiss star Federer among the men's seeds are American Andy Roddick, Safin, Argentina's Guillemo Coria, Spain's Carlos Moya, Britain's Tim Henman and Argentines Gaston Gaudio and David Nalbandian.

On the women's side, Mauresmo is followed by Russia's Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Russians Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina and Svetlana Kuznetsova, Aussie Alicia Molik and Venus Williams.

Federer will open with a second-round match against either Croatian Ivo Karlovic or Belgian Olivier Rochus. Roddick will begin in round two with either Dutchman Peter Wessels or Spain's Fernando Verdasco.

Agassi, the ninth seed, gets his first test in the second round against France's Paul-Henri Mathieu or Czech Michal Tabara. He could face a fourth round date with Gaudio, who opens with a qualifier or Spain's Alex Calatrava.

Henman opens in round two against either Dutchman Sjeng Schalken or Juan Monaco of Argentina with Federer a possible quarter-final foe.

On the women's side, Mauresmo opens in round two against a Russian, either Anna Chakvetadze or Maria Kirilenko. She could face another Russian, Kuznetsova, in the quarter-finals.

Unseeded Clijsters, who jumped from 133rd to 38th in the world this week, opens with a qualifier and would face American Amy Frazier in round two on the way to a possible fourth-round date with Myskina.

The Williams quarter of the bracket features Serena Williams starting in round two against either France's Emilie Loit or Russia's Vera Douchevina and Venus opening in round two against a qualifier or Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld.

Sharapova opens in round two against Greece's Eleni Daniilidou or Italy's Tabitha Garbin. She could face a quarter-final against Molik, who opens against either fellow Aussie Nicole Pratt or Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin