Perth, Jan 10: Venus Williams will be the third seed for the Australian Open tennis matches after the withdrawal of her sister and defending champion Serena from the event, tournament director paul McNamee said today.

McNamee said he was disappointed Serena had pulled out of the event, citing ongoing problems with her left knee. The former world number one had surgery in Los Angeles for the problem last August. She had been scheduled to play in the Hopman Cup international mixed teams event in Perth this week but pulled out at the last minute to be replaced by Lindsay Davenport. "She's the defending champion but I knew when she pulled out of Hopman Cup that there must be something afoot," McNamee said. "As you know her management was continuing to confirm she was going to come but it wasn't coming from Serena herself.
"Her folks had said she was coming here so obviously that was always going to effect her preparation for the Australian open. "I think the good news is that Venus is playing in Hong Kong. She beat Chanda Ruben last night so Serena is out and Venus is in. So there will be a Williams at Melbourne Park."
The Australian Open, the first grand slam of the year, starts in Melbourne on January 19. Bureau Report