Azarenka, Djokovic Top Seeds at 2013 Australian Open

Defending champions Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic headline the list of seeded men and women players at the 2013 Australian Open.

By Erik Gudris

(January 10, 2013) -- World No. 1's Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic will seek to defend their Australian Open titles from last year as they lead the list of seeded players for the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne, Australia.

Djokovic leads the men's field followed by No. 2 seed Roger Federer, No. 3 seed Andy Murray, No. 4 seed David Ferrer and No. 5 seed Tomas Berdych.

John Isner, who was seeded No. 12, withdrew from the event due to a bone bruise on his right leg. His absence will now mean that France's Julian Benneteau will secure the No. 32 seed before the draw is made on Friday. A “lucky loser” from the qualifying rounds will now fill Isner’s spot in the main draw already underway.

Sam Querrey will be the lone American man seeded at the event this year. France and Spain will have the most seeded players in the men's draw with four each.

On the women's side, Azarenka is the top seed followed by No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova, No. 3 seed Serena Williams, No. 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 5 seed Angelique Kerber.

American women made a strong showing in the list with four players including Serena Williams, Varvara Lepchenko (No. 21), Venus Williams (No. 25) and Sloane Stephens (No. 29). Russia has the most number of seeded women with a total of five.

The results of this year's women's singles event will determine the No. 1 ranking, as Azarenka, Sharapova and Williams are all within striking distance of the top spot based on current WTA rankings.

The draw ceremony for this year's Australian Open will be held at Crown Riverside in Melbourne at 10.00am on Friday, January 11th.

For a complete list of seeded players, click here.

(Photo Credit: Australian Open)