Australian Open News

Switzerland's Roger Federer and Russia's Maria Sharapova top the lists of seeds at the Australian Open, with organizers sticking to thh world rankings. Federer, the defending champion, is aiming for his 10th Grand Slam singles title and has been atop the men's rankings since February 2004. Sharapova moved to the top of the women's seedings list at Melbourne Park after No. 1-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne of Beelgium withdrew from the tournament ...

All the brilliant numbers came down to one simple equation for Roger Federer: He was two sets short of a Grand Slam season. Federer returns to Melbourne Park as the overwhelming favourite and defending Australian Open champion, one of three majors he won while compiling a 92-5 record last year. Four of his losses were against second-ranked Rafael Nadal, including the French Open final when he won the first set ...

The Australian Open will follow the U.S. Open and introduce an instant replay challenge system for disputed line calls. The 2006 U.S. Open was the first Grand Slam tournament to introduce the video replay system, although the technology had been used at other ATP events. The ``Hawk-Eye'' system will only be used on Rod Laver Arena _ the centre court at Melbourne Park _ where two giant TV screens will ...