18 Jan 2009

Nadal and Jankovic top seeds for Australian Tennis Open

9:14 am on 18 January 2009

Spain's Rafael Nadal and Jelena Jankovic of Serbia have been confirmed as the top seeds for this year's Australian Tennis Open, which begins on Monday.

Roger Federer has been listed as second seed in the men's draw ahead of defending champion Novak Djokovic and Briton Andy Murray for the year's first Grand Slam.

The former champion Serena Williams is seeded second for the women's tournament ahead of Russian pair Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva.

Nadal has never won the Australian Open although he has won the French Open four times and Wimbledon once.

His best performance in Melbourne was last year when he reached the semi-finals.

Jankovic was also a semi-finalist in Australia last year but is yet to win a grand slam.