NEW YORK, AUGUST 22: Defending champion Andre Agassi and Switzerland's Martina Hingis received the top seeds for the US Open tennis championships starting next week, the US Tennis Association announced on Monday.Agassi was seeded second when he beat fellow American Todd Martin in a thrilling five-set final last year. He was the top seed here in 1995, when he reached the final but lost to Pete Sampras. Agassi won the 1994 US Open title as an unseeded player.This marks the ninth straight year an American is the top-seeded men's player. Jim Courier started the streak in 1992 and 1993 and Sampras continued it.However, this time Sampras has been bumped to the fourth seed. The reigning Wimbledon champion currently ranks third in the ATP champions points race behind Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil and Magnus Norman of Sweden.Kuerten, the reigning French Open champion, is seeded second and joins Marcelo Rios of Chile (1998) and Guillermo Vilas of Argentina (1975) as the only South Americans to have been seeded that high.Norman is seeded third followed by Sampras and Russians Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin.Hingis, the US Open champion in 1997 and a finalist each of the last two years, earned the women's top seed for the fourth straight year.American Lindsay Davenport, the 1998 champion, is seeded second for the third consecutive year.Defending champion Serena Williams is seeded fifth. She won her first Grand Slam tournament at last year's Open, beating Monica Seles in the quarter-finals, Davenport in the semis and Hingis in the finals.Serena's sister Venus Williams, the reigning Wimbledon champion, is seeded third, French Open champion Mary Pierce of France is fourth and Seles is sixth. Seles won back-to-back US Open titles in 1990-91 and was runner-up in 1995-96.Agassi has been bothered by back problems since he was involved in a car accident on July 8. However, he appeared to be on the mend last week in Washington, winning four matches without dropping a set before losing in Sunday's final to Alex Corretja of Spain 6-2, 6-3. Agassi captured his sixth Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.Thomas Enqvist of Sweden is seeded seventh among the men followed by Corretja, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, Cedric Pioline of France, Tim Henman of Britain, Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, Franco Squillari of Argentina, Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, Mark Philippoussis of Australia and Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador.Two-time US Open champion Patrick Rafter is not seeded among the men's players.Conchita Martinez of Spain is the seventh seed for the women, followed by Nathalie Tauziat of France and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain, the 1994 champion.Anke Huber of Germany, a quarter-finalist last year, is the women's 10th seed followed by Sandrine Testud of France, Anna Kournikova of Russia, Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, Dominique van Roost of Belgium, American Jennifer Capriati and Julie Halard-Decugis of France.The draw will be held on Wednesday at the National Tennis Centre.The SeedingsMen1. Andre Agassi, United States2. Gustavo Kuerten, Brazil3. Magnus Norman, Sweden4. Pete Sampras, United States5. Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russia6. Marat Safin, Russia7. Thomas Enqvist, Sweden8. Alex Corretja, Spain9. Lleyton Hewitt, Australia10. Cedric Pioline, France11. Tim Henman, Britain12. Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain13. Franco Squillari, Argentina14. Nicolas Kiefer, Germany15. Mark Philippoussis, Australia16. Nicolas Lapentti, Ecuador.Women1. Martina Hingis, Switzerland2. Lindsay Davenport, United States3. Venus Williams, United States4. Mary Pierce, France5. Serena Williams, United States6. Monica Seles, United States7. Conchita Martinez, Spain8. Nathalie Tauziat, France9. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Spain10. Anke Huber, Germany11. Sandrine Testud, France12. Anna Kournikova, Russia13. Amanda Coetzer, South Africa14. Dominique Van Roost, Belgium15. Jennifer Capriati, United States16. Julie Halard-Decugis, France.
