Tennis/US Open draw: World number one Roger Federer will begin the defence of his US Open crown next week against Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic. The top-seeded Swiss will be going for his sixth grand slam title.

Women's world number one and top seed Maria Sharapova faces a tough first-round match against Greek Eleni Daniilidou, while second seed Lindsay Davenport faces Li Na of China.

Federer, who has won nine titles this year, will be content with his draw although he could meet former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, the number 20 seed, in the fourth round. Russian sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko is drawn to be his quarter-final opponent while third seed Lleyton Hewitt, who beat Federer to win the title at Flushing Meadows last year, is his likely semi-final opponent.

Former champions Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi, the two top-ranked US players, were drawn in the opposite half to Federer.

In the women's event, Sharapova is seeded to face her Russian compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova, the defending champion and fifth seed, in the quarter-finals. The highlight of the draw is a potential fourth-round showdown between the Williams sisters, Wimbledon champion Venus and Australian Open champion Serena.