PARIS—Defending champion Andre Agassi and Martina Hingis were named the top seeds for the French Open, the second major tennis tournament this year.
Pete Sampras, who has won 12 Grand Slam titles but has never won the French Open, is seeded second among the men. Fellow American Lindsay Davenport is the second seed behind Hingis on the women’s side.
When Agassi won last year’s final, he became the fifth men’s tennis player ever to win all four Grand Slam (大满贯) tournaments. In that dramatic match, he rallied after losing the first two sets to defeat Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine.
Agassi joined legendary players Rod Laver, Don Budge, Roy Emerson and Fred Perry as the only men to win all four major tournaments.
After triumphing in Paris last year, Agassi continued his Grand Slam success by winning two of the next three majors. He captured the U. S. Open title, reached the final at Wimbledon and started 2000 by winning the Australian Open.
This year, Hingis will not have to worry about Steffi Graf, who beat her in last year’s final.
Graf has since retired from professional tennis.
During that close match, the Swiss teenager was frustrated by close calls and a crowd that supported Graf.
Hingis was so distraught after the game that she needed her mother and coach, Melanie Molitor, to console her.
She has lost in the French Open final twice in the last three years and it is the only major tournament that she still has not won.
In January, Hingis was denied her fourth straight Australian Open title by Davenport, who also will look to complete her personal Grand Slam at this year’s French Open.
The competition between these two top women’s players will be close.
American women took three of the top four rankings for the tournament. After Davenport, Monica Seles and Venus Williams are seeded third and fourth, respectively.
On the men’s side, Magnus Norman of Sweden is seeded third. Former champions Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russai and Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil are seeded fourth and fifth, respectively.