Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic named as top seeds for upcoming US Open

Serena Williams has been named as the top seed of the women's draw at the US Open ©Getty Images

American world number one Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic of Serbia are once again the top seeds for the upcoming US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York City, it has been announced.

Defending women's champion Williams, a winner of 21 Grand Slams, is bidding to earn a seventh US Open crown, which would see her become the most successful woman in the history of the event.

Should the 33-year-old win the tournament, due to begin on Monday (August 31) and last until September 13, she will complete the calendar-year Grand Slam following her successes at the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon.

No female player has managed the feat since German Steffi Graf, whose record of 22 Grand Slam titles will be equalled should Williams triumph on home soil, took home all four trophies back in 1988.

The 2014 French Open semi-finalist Simona Halep of Romania is seeded second in the women’s draw, with 2006 US Open champion Maria Sharapova of Russia third and Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, a finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2014, fourth.

Serena’s sister Venus, winner of the US Open in two successive years at the turn of the millennium, is seeded at 23, with 2004 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova at 30.

The seedings set up the intriguing prospect of Serena Williams taking on Sharapova at the semi-final stage should they be in the same half of the draw, due to take place tomorrow.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia is the top seed in the men's draw for the third year in a row ©Getty Images

In the men’s draw, nine-times Grand Slam champion Djokovic will be the man to beat in New York City, with accomplished Swiss star Roger Federer, who comes into the event having beaten the Serbian to claim the Cincinnati Masters title on Sunday (August 23), seeded second.

Competing on his favoured hard courts, Britain’s Andy Murray, who clinched his first-ever Grand Slam crown by winning the 2012 US Open, is seeded at number three, ahead of Japan’s rising prospect Kei Nishikori.

The men’s top 10 features five US Open winners, including last year’s surprise victor Marin Čilić of Croatia, with Spaniard Rafael Nadal down at eight following another difficult year plagued with injuries.

Two-times champion Nadal will not face one of the game’s heavyweights before the quarter-final stage, meaning he avoids the likes of Djokovic, Federer or Murray until the last eight.

The announcement of Williams and Djokovic as the top seeds marks the first time the same man and woman have been seeded at number one for three years in a row since Steffi Graf and Ivan Lendl between 1987 and 1989.