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Sampras, Hingis get top billing

Defending champion Pete Sampras, bidding to win a record sixth singles title, was named the top seed for the Wimbledon men's singles competition, just above Australian Patrick Rafter.

Martina Hingis, also world number one, was given the top billing for the women's tournament, ahead of Steffi Graf, who beat her in the French Open final. Graf, who bids for her eighth singles title, was seeded second, one spot better than her ranking.

Defending women's champion Jana Novotna, still injured after spraining her ankle at the French Open, was seeded fifth.

Sampras, who regained the world No. 1 spot from Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, after winning the Queen's grass court title last Sunday, has won five of the last six Wimbledon titles and needs one more to become the most successful men's singles player at the Championships this century.

Compatriot Andre Agassi, who won the French Open, was seeded fourth, his current ranking, behind Yevgeny Kafelnikov, for the two-week championships which begin next Monday.

Wimbledon, however, did not faithfully follow the rankings when they named the 32 seeds for the singles. They downgraded clay court specialists such as Carlos Moya and Gustavo Kuerten and pushed Goran Ivanisevic, a thrice Wimbledon finalist, up the seedings ladder.

Brazil's Kuerten, ranked seventh in the world, was made 11th seed, while Spaniard Moya, another French Open champion, dropped two places below his ranking to12th.

There was no place for eighth-ranked Alex Corretja. It was unclear whether the Spaniard had pulled out of the championships like world number nine Marcelo Rios of Chile, who is said to be suffering from a leg injury.

Croatian Ivanisevic was seeded five places above his world ranking at 10th - he lost last year's final in five sets to Sampras. Another big server, Mark Philippoussis of Australia, was seeded seventh compared with his ranking of 11.

In the women's section, American Lindsay Davenport was named third seed. The women's seedings followed the rankings more closely, except that Nathalie Tauziat, who last year became the first French woman to reach a Wimbledon final since 1925, swapped places with compatriot Mary Pierce to become eighth seed.

Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo has withdrawn, organisers said, allowing Natasha Zvereva of Belarus, a semi-finalist last year, to be named 16th and last seed.

Agencies