体坛英语新闻：Seeded players raise US Open heat

NEW YORK - Top seeds Roger Federer and Justine Henin and fellow reigning Grand Slam champions Venus and Serena Williams were set for US Open second-round matches Wednesday while Rafael Nadal prepared for his debut.

Serena Williams of the United States returns a shot to Maria Elena Camerin of Italy at the US Open tennis tournament in New York, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007. [AP]

Spanish second seed Nadal, who beat Federer in the French Open final but lost an epic five-set rematch for the Wimbledon crown, was to face Australian wild card Alun Jones in one of Flushing Meadows' last first-round matches.

Last days were also on the mind of Britain's Tim Henman, who will play Russia's Dmitry Tursunov in what could be the final match of the Englishman's career. Tursunov has won five of their six previous meetings.

Henman, who turns 33 on September 6, announced last week that this would be his final tournament. The four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist will conclude his career next month with a Davis Cup tie at hallowed London grass grounds.

Swiss world number one Federer, seeking his 12th Grand Slam title and fourth US Open crown in a row, was set to face 120th-ranked Chilean qualifier Paul Capdeville in a second-round night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Federer, chasing the all-time Slam record of 14 crowns won by Pete Sampras, could become the first man to capture four US titles since Bill Tilden's title run from 1920 to 1925.

Belgian women's world number one Justine Henin, who lost to Russia's Maria Sharapova in last year's US Open final, faces Bulgarian 130th-ranked teen qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova for a spot in the third round.

Henin, who won her sixth career Slam title and fourth French Open in June at Roland Garros, missed another chance to complete a career Grand Slam when she was upset by France's Marion Bartoli in a Wimbledon semi-final last month.

Eight-time Slam champion Serena Williams, who won the Australian Open crown in January, faces Italy's 76th-ranked Maria Elena Camerin in a night match. The US eighth seed could face Henin in a US Open quarter-final.

Wimbledon winner Venus Williams, the 12th seed and a six-time Slam winner, meets Romania's Ioana Raluca Olaru, 18, who is ranked 84th.

Williams faces a possible matchup in the round of 16 with Serbian fifth seed Ana Ivanovic, who opens the day's action at Arthur Ashe Stadium against 61st-ranked Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai.

Serbia's other women's star, third seed Jelena Jankovic, has a second-round matchup with 65th-ranked teen Olga Govortsova of Belarus. Jankovic reached the 2006 US Open semi-finals and this year's French Open semi-finals.