Wozniacki, Djokovic top seeds at Open

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Caroline Wozniacki and reigning champion Novak Djokovic are the top-seeded players at the Australian Open.

Tournament organizers stuck to convention and based the seedings for the season's first major on the current WTA and ATP rankings.

Djokovic is followed by 2009 champion Rafael Nadal, four-time champion Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who has lost the past two finals at the Australian Open. Of the top 32 men, only Robin Soderling and Marin Cilic are absent.

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is seeded No. 2 and is followed by Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova.

Kvitova can move from No. 2 to No. 1 in the rankings by winning the Sydney International - where nine of the top 10 women are playing, including Wozniacki- but it wouldn't change the Australian Open seedings.

All the top 32 women have entered the Melbourne draw.

Defending women's champion Kim Clijsters (hip) and 2010 champion Serena Williams (left ankle) sustained injuries during the Brisbane International last week, but both are expected to play at the Australian Open. Clijsters is seeded No. 12 and Williams is 13th.Clijsters was unable to defend her Australian title last year due to prolonged injury. Williams has lost only twice at Melbourne Park since winning the title in 2003 - missing tournaments in 2004 and 2011 and winning the title five times.

Venus Williams withdrew from the Open, prolonging her absence from the tour because of an autoimmune disease that can cause fatigue and joint pain.

The draw for the tournament will be held Friday. The Open will begin Monday.

U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur lost to Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the Sydney International in another setback in her preparation for next week's Australian Open.

Soccer

Messi FIFA's top player: Already considered one of soccer's greats at age 24, Lionel Messi became the first to win FIFA Player of the Year three times in a row. The Barcelona and Argentina forward beat club teammate Xavi Hernandez and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo for the 2011 award.

The only other three-time winners are Ronaldo (1996-97, 2002) and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2000, 2003).

On a night of Barcelona dominance, Pep Guardiola was honored as men's coach of the year, ahead of Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho and Manchester United's Alex Ferguson.

Homare Sawa of Japan ended Brazilian forward Marta's five-year reign as the top women's player. American Abby Wambach was a finalist.

Motorsports

Roma wins Stage 8 of Dakar Rally: In Antofagasta, Chile, Joan Roma of Spain won the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally in the car category, and Stephane Peterhansel finished fourth to keep the overall lead as the rally heads into the final week.

In the motorcycle category, defending champion Marc Coma of Spain won the stage and also took the overall lead from Frenchman Cyril Despres, who got stuck in mud and lost 10 minutes.

The 296-mile special stage took riders north from Copiapo to the coastal city of Antofagasta.

The rally will end Sunday in Lima, Peru.

Olympics

Britain's doping ban challenged: Sport's highest court will hold a hearing on March 12 to rule on the British Olympic Association's lifetime ban for doping cheats. A verdict expected to be issued in April.

Britain, the only country that enforces a life ban, could be forced to drop the rule ahead of the London Olympics if it loses its case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The BOA filed an appeal to CAS last month, challenging a decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency to declare the British body "noncompliant" with the global anti-doping code.

WADA declared that the BOA's 20-year-old rule amounted to a second sanction. The British body maintains its bylaw is an eligibility issue.

U.K. police managed to smuggle a fake bomb into Olympic Park in a security test, overshadowing a special U.K. Cabinet meeting Monday held at the park marking 200 days until the Summer Games begin.

The Olympic Delivery Authority declined to comment directly on whether a fake bomb was involved in last year's failed test, but said "testing is standard practice" in all major security operations.

"Such tests have a key role in developing our capability to ensure that London 2012 is safe and secure and that we are best prepared to detect potential threats before and during the Games," the statement said Sunday. "Members of the public with tickets should be reassured that such exercises are being staged to ensure their safety, our number one priority."