Venus on for third grand slam title in 12 months

Venus and Serena Williams have been spared a meeting in next week's Australian Open - until the semi-finals, that is.

Venus, the second seed, begins her quest for a third grand slam title in 12 months with a first-round match against a qualifier but may have to beat Monica Seles to make it an all-Williams semi.

The fifth seed Serena, meanwhile, must overcome the former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez as an hors d'oeuvre and then survive a bracket that includes Switzerland's Martina Hingis.

The injured world No1, Lindsay Davenport, is one player who will not be standing in their way. Her absence means that her fellow American Jennifer Capriati, the defending champion who has drawn Croatia's Silvija Talaja in the opening round, is top seed. But the best player on the women's circuit, as she proved by winning Wimbledon and the US Open, is Venus Williams.

She may lack something in grace and her service action can still unravel, but when she is fit and focused nobody can hold a candle to her. Given that she won the season's opening tournament on Australia's Gold Coast, there is every reason to believe the older sister will be Australian Open champion in two weeks.

Of those still playing singles only Hingis, with five, and Seles, with nine, have won more slams. However, Seles's last success was in Melbourne six years ago and Hingis's most recent major title was the 1999 Aus tralian Open. A slam title appears beyond the grasp of Seles, the American eighth seed who meets Switzerland's Patty Schnyder in the first round, and Hingis, back after an ankle operation and playing Virginie Razzano of France, has yet to demonstrate that she can defeat the power games of the Williamses, Capriati and the young Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. Clijsters should power past Australia's Christina Wheeler in the first round but Henin faces a tougher challenge in Anna Kournikova.

Selecting a men's winner is much more of a problem. The old guard, represented by Andre Agassi, the reigning champion and third seed, and Pete Sampras, seeded eight, are close to their sell-by date but cannot be ruled out. Agassi, attempting to win his third consecutive Australian title, has drawn a qualifier and Sampras the unseeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen. They are in the top half of the draw with Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, the world No1 and recent chickenpox victim, who opens against Spain's Alberto Martin.

In the lower half, Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, the former No1 and second seed here, plays Julien Boutter of France. Kuerten has won only four matches in five attempts in the Australian Open and lost in the second round last year to Greg Rusedski.

Of the other top players Yevgeny Kafelnikov was the winner in 1999 and runner-up in 2000 and rarely does badly in Melbourne, and France's Sébastien Grosjean, Britain's Tim Henman, Tommy Haas of Germany, Marat Safin of Russia and the Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia are also in contention. Of these five only Safin and Ivanisevic have a grand slam title to their name, Safin having won the 2000 US Open. After a largely undistinguished 2001 the huge Muscovite will surely be anxious to reignite the fires.

Men's singles, first round: L Hewitt (Aus, 1) v A Martin (Sp); A Agassi (US, 3) v qualifier; M Safin (Rus, 9) v A Dupuis (Fr); J Nieminen (Fin) v P Sampras (US, 8); S Grosjean (Fr, 5) v J Balcells (Sp); M Lee (GB) v F Clavet (Sp); M Damm (Cze) v G Ivanisevic (Cro, 10); qualifier v Y Kafelnikov (Rus, 4); T Henman (GB, 6) v T Larkham (Aus); S Draper (Aus) v G Rusedski (GB, 28); J Boutter (Fr) v G Kuerten (Bra, 2).

Women's singles, first round: J Capriati (US, 1), v S Talaja (Cro); M Shaughnessy (US, 10) v A Stevenson (US); J Lee (Tai) v A Mauresmo (Fr, 7); K Clijsters (Bel, 4) v C Wheeler (Aus); I Majoli (Cro) v A Sanchez-Vicario (Sp, 14); A Kournikova (Rus) v J Henin (Bel, 6); S Williams (US, 5) v C Martinez (Sp); V Razzano (Fr) v M Hingis (Swi, 3); M Seles (US, 8) v P Schnyder (Swi); N Dechy (Fr) v S Testud (Fr, 9); M Pierce (Fr) v J Craybas (US); qualifier v V Williams (US, 2).