Murray Seeded No 1 in a Grand Slam for the First Time

Andy Murray has been named as the top seed for the Australian Open which starts next week, the first time the Scot has been ranked No 1 in a Grand Slam.

Murray, a five-time finalist, will be chasing his first Melbourne title while his main rival will be six-time winner Novak Djokovic who has been handed the second seed position.

The pair have met in four previous finals, including last year, with Djokovic winning on all four occasions and having beaten Murray in Doha last week, the Serb will be confident of becoming the first man to win the Australian Open on seven occasions.

Federer return to Grand Slam action having missed the US Open and the second half of last season with back and knee injuries and having dropped out of the top 10 for the first time since 2002, he is seeded 17th meaning a possible third round tie with Murray or Djokovic could be on the cards.

The four-time Aussie Open champion is chasing an 18th Grand Slam title but has not won a major since Wimbledon in 2012 and Melbourne next week will be his first competitive tournament since Wimbledon last year.

Nadal is seeded ninth and a potential quarter-final opponent for the top four. The 14-time Grand Slam champion is without a major in almost three years and suffered a five-set first round defeat to Fernando Verdasco in Melbourne last year.

In the women’s singles, defending champion and world No 1 Angelique Kerber leads the way followed by 22-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams.

Britain’s Johanna Konta, a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, is the No 9 seed.