Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams top seeds at US Open

New York City: World number ones Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams were confirmed on Tuesday as the top seeds for the 2013 US Open.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who returned to number two in the world this week after winning back-to-back Masters titles at Montreal and Cincinnati, is the second seed with reigning men’s champion Andy Murray seeded third.

Murray will be defending a Grand Slam title for the first time and also trying to win back-to-back majors for the first time after his triumph at Wimbledon.

Roger Federer, a five-time US Open champion, has dropped to seventh, his lowest seeding at Flushing Meadows since 2002. Federer’s record 17 Grand Slam titles include five at the US Open. He’s among five former champions in the men’s field, including No 1-seeded Novak Djokovic, No 2 Rafael Nadal, and No 3 Andy Murray, who won the 2012 title. Federer was seeded No 1 at 18 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments from 2004-08.

Djokovic has reached at least the semi-finals in each of the last six years, and the last time he was the top seed, in 2011, he took home the crown.

Williams, a 16-time Grand Slam champion, is the reigning US Open and French Open champion.

She beat reigning Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka in last year’s finale in New York, but Azarenka upset Williams in last week’s 1-versus-2 WTA final in Cincinnati.

Williams is followed in the seedings by Azarenka, former top-ranked 2006 US Open champ and 2013 French Open runner-up Maria Sharapova, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Sara Errani. Two-time champion Venus Williams, currently ranked 60th in the world, is unseeded for the tournament that begins on Monday.