CINCINNATI (August 5, 2014) – The No. 1 tennis players in the World, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, will be the top seeds for the 2014 Western & Southern Open which begins this coming weekend at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati.
These two top seeds have combined to win 106 career titles (Williams 61, Djokovic 45), including 24 at Grand Slams (Williams 17, Djokovic 7), while holding the No. 1 ranking for a combined total of 306 weeks (Williams 200, Djokovic 106).
Williams, the runner-up at the Western & Southern Open in 2013, is the No. 1 seed in the women’s tournament for the second year in a row as she plays the event for the sixth time in her career. Williams is 11-4 in her career at the tournament.
The current No. 1 player in the World, Williams is one of seven players to have held the No. 1 ranking in the field, joined by No. 6 seed and 2011 champion Maria Sharapova, No. 8 and 2009 champion Jelena Jankovic, No. 9 Ana Ivanovic, No. 10 and defending champion Victoria Azarenka, No. 12 Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams, who is unseeded.
Djokovic will be the men’s top seed for the third time. A four-time finalist at the Western & Southern Open, he would complete a Career Golden Masters with a championship here as it would give him at least one title at each of the nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. He is 21-9 lifetime at the Western & Southern Open.
Five-time Cincinnati champion Roger Federer, who owns a 32-8 record at the event, will be the second seed for the tournament. This marks the 13th time Federer has been seeded, which ties him with Andre Agassi for the most times being seeded in tournament history.
“To see these names on the seeding lists affirms just how strong the fields are,” said tournament director Vince Cicero. “It is incredibly challenging to play the Western & Southern Open because you are going to face top caliber talent in every single match throughout the week. That consistent level of competition during the entire tournament is a great asset for our fans who will see world class tennis no matter which day they attend the event.”
There are 16 seeds in each draw, with the top eight seeds receiving byes to advance directly into the second round.
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Men’s Seeds
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Women’s Seeds
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| 1. Novak Djokovic | 1. Serena Williams |
| 2. Roger Federer | 2. Simona Halep |
| 3. Stan Wawrinka | 3. Petra Kvitova |
| 4. Tomas Berdych | 4. Agnieszka Radwanska |
| 5. Milos Raonic | 5. Maria Sharapova |
| 6. David Ferrer | 6. Angelique Kerber |
| 7. Grigor Dimitrov | 7. Eugenie Bouchard |
| 8. Andy Murray | 8. Jelena Jankovic |
| 9. Juan Martin del Potro | 9. Ana Ivanovic |
| 10. Ernests Gulbis | 10. Victoria Azarenka |
| 11. Richard Gasquet | 11. Dominika Cibulkova |
| 12. John Isner | 12. Caroline Wozniacki |
| 13. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 13. Flavia Pennetta |
| 14. Roberto Bautista Agut | 14. Sara Errani |
| 15. Marin Cilic | 15. Carla Suarez Navarro |
| 16. Fabio Fognini | 16. Lucie Safarova |
The seeds are subject to change with any changes to the field before it is finalized at the making of the draw on Friday evening.
The Western & Southern Open is one of only five tennis events in the world, outside of the grand slams, where the best men and women play during the same week at the same venue. In 2013, the tournament drew a single-week event record of 187,183 fans while selling out 13 of 16 sessions. Already two sessions – the semifinal evening session on Aug. 16 and the finals on Aug. 17 – have sold out for the 2014 event. Several other sessions are close to selling out, and fans are encouraged to act now to secure their seats in advance via www.cincytennis.com, by calling 513.651.0303 or through TicketMaster.
