TOKYO, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Top seed Martina Hingis of Switzerland and third seed Monica Seles of the United States return to action this week at the $1.2 million Pan Pacific Open.
However, No. 6 Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria and No. 8 Amanda Coetzer of South Africa will be the first seeds on court Tuesday when the first round begins at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in this Tier I event.
Hingis and Seles squared off last Thursday in the semifinals of the Australian Open. After battling back, Hingis held on for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory to reach her sixth consecutive final at Melbourne Park.
But Hingis wasted four championship points Saturday as world No. 1 Jennifer Capriati rallied from a one-set, 0-4 hole to win her second straight Australian Open title against the Swiss star.
A three-time winner and finalist the last five years at the Pan Pacific Open, Hingis will be gunning for her second title of the year. The 21-year-old defeated Meghann Shaughnessy on January 12 to capture the adidas International crown at Sydney.
Hingis lost to Lindsay Davenport a year ago in the Tokyo final.
Seles never has reached the final here. She advanced to the semifinals in her last appearance in 1999, losing to Coetzer.
Hingis, Seles and the other top four seeds received first-round byes at this event.
No. 2 Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia will make her WTA Tour season debut after winning three titles and going 53-23 last year.
Fourth seed Sandrine Testud of France is looking to bounce back from a disappointing Australian Open, where she was upset by compatriot Nathalie Dechy in the opening round. Her lone title of 2001 came at the Big Island Championships in Hawaii.
Maleeva meets Daja Bedanova of the Czech Republic in the opening round, while Coetzer faces American Lisa Raymond. Russian wild-card and fan favorite Anna Kournikova, who won the Australian Open doubles title with Hingis last week, has a first-round encounter with Spaniard Cristina Torrens Valero.
Also on Tuesday, Uzbekistan's Iroda Tulyaganova takes on Italy's Rita Grande and Spain's Magui Serna goes up against Austria's Barbara Schett.
