For the first time at the US Open, 32 players will be seeded, representing 25 percent of the players in the 128-player singles main draw. The change in number of seeds was firmly supported by the USTA and adopted by the Grand Slams earlier this year. The 32 seeds better reflects the depth of the mens and the womens games, while rewarding the top players for their performance over the past 52 weeks.
For 2001, the US Open will continue the past practice of following the ATP Entry System Points (ESP) and WTA. Tour rankings, respectively, when determining the seeds for the mens and womens singles draws. For future years, the Grand Slams will continue to pursue and evaluate a constant objective surface-based system to determine exact seeding positions.
Kuerten, 24, is seeded No. 1 at the US Open for the first time in his career. he won the singles title at Roland Garros for a third time in June, defeating Alex Corretja of Spain in the final. Kuertans best showing at Flushing Meadows came in 1999 when he reached the quarterfinals.
Agassi, 31, will be seeking his third US Open title after winning championships in 1994 and 1999. Agassi won his third Australian Open singles title in January, defeating Amaud Clement in the final. He won his first US Open title in 1994 as an unseeded player.
Hingis, 20, is seeded No. 1 at the US Open for a fourth straight year. She won her only US Open singles title in 1997, defeating Venus Williams in the final. Hingis was a finalist at the Australian Open in January and won her last Grand Slam singles title at the 1999 Australian Open.
Capriati, 25, is seeded No. 2 at the US Open for the first time in her career her highest seeding in nine previous appearances. Her best US Open showing came in 1991 as a 15-year-old when she reached the semifinals losing to Monica Seles.
The draw for the 2001 US Open will take place in the media interview room at the USTA National Tennis Center on Wed., Aug. 22, at 10:30 a.m. Main draw play begins Mon., Aug. 27 and concluding Sun., Sep. 9 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona park in Flushing. The US Open qualifying tournament will run from Aug. 21-25. For more information on the 2001 US Open, visit the official website www.usopen.org.
The United States Tennis Assoc. runs and stages the US Open and selects the teams that compete in Davis Cup, Fed Cup and the Olympic Games. The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in America and is a non-profit organization with more than 625,000 members. It invests all of its resources to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass roots to the professional levels.
