Williams sisters in same half of draw

MELBOURNE, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Serena Williams faces a half of the draw that features six Top 10 players, including her sister Venus, as she seeks a fifth Australian Open title.

The year's first Grand Slam event opens Monday and the women's singles final is scheduled for Jan. 30. Serena Williams, the defending champion, has won the event in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009. The road to a fifth championship included a first-round match against Urszula Radwanska.

Williams lost the Medibank International finals to Elena Dementieva Friday and appeared to be bothered with a left leg injury, which could be an issue in Melbourne.

She can't face a player ranked higher than 13th until the quarterfinals, when potential foes include seventh-seeded Victoria Azarenka and No. 9-seeded Vera Zvonareva. Williams could go against Venus Williams, who is seeded sixth, in the semifinals.

Venus Williams could meet 10th-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth round and fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the quarters.

The lower half of the bracket shows that second-seeded Dinara Safina, last year's runner-up, could meet No. 8 Jelena Jankovic in the quarters while third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova has a possible quarterfinal match against the fifth-seeded Dementieva.

The 2010 Australian Open features the return of Justine Henin to Grand Slam events after a 19-month retirement. Henin, who won the Australian Open in 2004, drew Kirsten Flipkens in the first round and, if she wins, would likely go against Dementieva in the second.