Novak Djokovic, Simona Halep top seeds for Australian Open

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns the ball to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson during the final match of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

MELBOURNE, Australia  — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep, as expected, were given the No. 1 seedings on Thursday when the Australian Open announced its singles seedings list.

Defending champion Roger Federer is seeded No. 3 after Rafael Nadal, while women’s defending singles champion Caroline Wozniacki, who beat Halep in last year’s final at Melbourne Park, is No. 3 behind second-seeded and 2016 champion Angelique Kerber.

Serena Williams, who won the Australian Open in 2017 while pregnant with daughter Alexis Olympia, returns as the 16th-seeded player after missing last year’s tournament.

Fifth-ranked Juan Martin del Potro will miss the Australian Open while he recovers from a fractured right kneecap.

Men’s Singles

1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia

2. Rafael Nadal, Spain

3. Roger Federer, Switzerland

4. Alexander Zverev, Germany

5. Kevin Anderson, South Africa

6. Marin Cilic, Croatia

7. Dominic Thiem, Austria

8. Kei Nishikori, Japan

9. John Isner, United States

10. Karen Khachanov, Russia

11. Borna Coric, Croatia

12. Fabio Fognini, Italy

13. Kyle Edmund, Britain

14. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greece

15. Daniil Medvedev, Russia

16. Milos Raonic, Canada

17. Marco Cecchinato, Italy

18. Diego Schwartzman, Argentina

19. Nikoloz Basilashvili, Georgia

20. GrigorDimitrov, Bulgaria

21. David Goffin, Belgium

22. Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain

23. Pablo Carreno Busta, Spain

24. HyeonChung, South Korea

25. Denis Shapovalov, Canada

26. Fernando Verdasco, Spain

27. Alex de Minaur, Australia

28. Lucas Pouille, France

29. Gilles Simon, France

30. Gael Monfils, France

31. Steve Johnson, United States

32. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany

Women’s Singles

1. Simona Halep, Romania

2. Angelique Kerber, Germany

3. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark

4. Naomi Osaka, Japan

5. Sloane Stephens, United States

6. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine

7. Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic

8. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic

9. Kiki Bertens, Netherlands

10. Daria Kasatkina, Russia

11. Aryna Sabalenka, Belarus

12. Elise Mertens, Belgium

13. Anastasija Sevastova, Latvia

14. Julia Goerges, Germany

15. Ashleigh Barty, Australia

16. Serena Williams, United States

17. Madison Keys, United States

18. Garbine Muguruza, Spain

19. Caroline Garcia, France

20. Anett Kontaveit, Estonia

21. Wang Qiang, China

22. JelenaOstapenko, Latvia

23. Carla Suárez Navarro, Spain

24. Lesia Tsurenko, Ukraine

25. Mihaela Buzarnescu, Romania

26. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia

27. CamilaGiorgi, Italy

28. Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan

29. Donna Vekic, Croatia

30. Maria Sharapova, Russia

31. Petra Martic, Croatia

32. Barbora Strycova, Czech Republic