Defending champion Roger Federer is a five-time winner at the Western & Southern Open.
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CINCINNATI – The highest-ranked tennis players in the world will be the top seeds for next week's Western & Southern Open, led by both No. 1s – Serena Williams for the WTA and Novak Djokovic for the ATP World Tour.
The 16 seeds for the tournament also mirror the top 16 players in each respective tour's rankings as of Aug. 5. The 2013 Western & Southern Open will be held August 10-18 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
"It's exciting to be one week out from the tournament and have the Top 16 players in the world from each tour in our field," said Tournament Director Vince Cicero. "Unlike at a Grand Slam where there are 32 seeds, being seeded in Cincinnati offers minimal protection. Any of these top players could play a Top 20 opponent as early as their first match, and that always makes for some compelling contests from the very beginning of the week."
Williams, 31, is in her 148th week as the WTA's No. 1 player and will be the top seed at the Western & Southern Open for the first time in her career. Victoria Azarenka, the 2012 WTA year-end No. 1, will be the second seed while 2011 Cincinnati champion Maria Sharapova will be the third seed. Poland's Agniezska Radwanska will be seeded fourth and defending Cincinnati champion Li Na rounds out the top five women's seeds.
Djokovic, a four-time finalist at the Western & Southern Open, is in his 93rd week as world No 1 and will be the tournament's top seed for the second time (also 2011). He is looking to become the first player to have won each of the nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. Two-time Cincinnati champion and reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion Andy Murray will be second seed. The third and fourth seeds are both Spaniards, David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal, respectively, while five-time Cincinnati champion Roger Federer will be fifth seed.
The seeds are based on the Aug. 5 ranking from each tour and are listed below (the number preceding the name is the current ranking):
| ATP |
WTA |
| 1. Novak Djokovic |
1. Serena Williams |
| 2. Andy Murray |
2. Victoria Azarenka |
| 3. David Ferrer |
3. Maria Sharapova |
| 4. Rafael Nadal |
4. Agnieszka Radwanska |
| 5. Roger Federer |
5. Li Na |
| 6. Tomas Berdych |
6. Sara Errani |
| 7. Juan Martin del Potro |
7. Petra Kvitova |
| 8. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
8. Marion Bartoli |
| 9. Richard Gasquet |
9. Angelique Kerber |
| 10. Stanislas Wawrinka |
10. Caroline Wozniacki |
| 11. Kei Nishikori |
11. Samantha Stosur |
| 12. Tommy Haas |
12. Roberta Vinci |
| 13. Milos Raonic |
13. Kirsten Flipkens |
| 14. Nicolas Almagro |
14. Jelena Jankovic |
| 15. Marin Cilic |
15. Ana Ivanovic |
| 16. Fabio Fognini |
16. Maria Kirilenko |
The seedings are subject to change in the event the player field changes. The fields, as well as the seeds, will be finalized Friday afternoon prior to the Draw Party that will be held that evening at 5:30 p.m.
The Western & Southern Open hosted 176,000 fans in 2012, recording a record 10 sellouts over the 16 total sessions spanning nine days. The event drew fans from all 50 states and 19 countries. Cincinnati is one of the last stops on the Emirates Airline US Open Series leading up to the US Open, and often critical points and bonus money are on the line adding drama to the week.