Federer set to launch bid for a 10th Slam

Federer broke down in tears after overcoming Marcos Baghdatis in last year8217;s Melbourne final, saying how much it meant to win the title and receive the trophy from his idol Rod Laver.

He finished world No.1 for the third straight year and is gunning for his third Australian Open crown in four years. The Swiss star has assumed the mantle of a modern-day tennis great, some argue the best of all, with nine major titles, five behind all-time leader Pete Sampras.

Given he is only 25 and in the peak of his career, there is little to suggest that he won8217;t be lifting the Australian Open on January 28, and the year8217;s other three Grand Slams. 8220;My focus is the same as it8217;s been the past few years. It starts with the Australian Open, you have to play well here,8221; he said.

8220;If I win the Open, then it gets interesting. I8217;ll know in a few weeks8217; time if that8217;s a goal that I can aim for. I8217;m happy to win one or two Slams a season. 8220;You can8217;t win all the time, but I hope to keep it up for a few more years.8221;

Baghdatis of Cyprus captivated last year8217;s Open when, ranked 54, he knocked over top-10 players in Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic and David Nalbandian to reach the final where he went down in four sets to Federer.

8220;Whenever I see the Rebound Ace and the colour of the courts I just want to play,8221; Baghdatis said of the Australian Open.

8220;I don8217;t know why, it just gives me the motivation to play, the sound and all the things down there.8221;

Safin may be ranked 26 but he has won and been twice runner-up in his last four trips to Melbourne, so he has the game, power and ability.

8220;I finished my season pretty late after the Davis Cup final. I didn8217;t really have a holiday, it8217;s a different appraoch to the Open this year. I hope it will work,8221; he said.

FedEx, Sharapova top seeds

Melbourne: Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova topped the lists of seeded players at the Australian Open, with organisers sticking to world rankings.

Sharapova moved to the top of the women8217;s seedings list at Melbourne Park after top-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne withdrew from the tournament due to personal reasons. Sharapova has only been seeded No. 1 once, when she won last year8217;s US Open. 8220;I don8217;t see it as putting any extra pressure on me,8221; Sharapova said. 8220;Whatever you are seeded you8217;ve just got to go out and play your matches.8221;

Defending Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo was seeded second. On the men8217;s side, French Open champion Rafael Nadal was seeded No. 2 and is expected to recover from a groin strain that forced him out of a warmup tournament in Sydney this week.

The top 10 Seeds:

8226; Men: 1. Roger Federer, 2. Rafael Nadal, 3. Nikolay Davydenko, 4. Ivan Ljubicic, 5. James Blake, 6. Andy Roddick, 7. Tommy Robredo, 8. David Nalbandian, 9. Mario Ancic, 10. Fernando Gonzalez.

8226; Women: 1.Maria Sharapova, 2. Amelie Mauresmo, 3. Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4. Kim Clijsters, 5. Nadia Petrova, 6. Martina Hingis, 7. Elena Dementieva, 8. Patty Schnyder, 9. Dinara Safina and 10. Nicole Vaidisova.