Hingis begins her quest for a fourth Australian Open title in five years, but first Grand Slam title in two years when she faces Katalin Marosi-Aracama of Hungary on Tuesday.

Kuerten, who ended 2000 as the first South American to finish the year at No. 1, meets fellow South American Gaston Gaudio of Argentina.

Venus Williams, seeded third, looks to continue the hardcourt dominance she displayed last season when she takes on Spanish qualifier Maria Jose Martinez. Venus' younger sister Serena, seeded sixth, meets Janet Lee of Taipei.

After failing to go an entire year without a Grand Slam singles title for the first time since 1996, Hingis will attempt to start 2001 with her first major since winning here in 1999.

Hingis was denied a fourth straight title in Melbourne with her loss to Lindsay Davenport in last year's final. But the 20-year-old from Switzerland bounced back to lead the WTA Tour in 2000 with nine titles, including the Chase Championships.

It will be hard for Venus Williams to duplicate her success of 2000, when she put together a 35-match winning streak which included a run of six straight titles. Among the titles she collected during her streak were her first Grand Slam singles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, as well as capturing Olympic gold in Sydney.

Venus Williams went unbeaten in 25 matches on hard courts last season and will vie for her second straight title in Australia following her Olympic success. She missed last year's Australian Open with tendinitis in both wrists.

In other seeded women's action, 1995 winner and reigning French Open champion Mary Pierce of France, seeded seventh, continues her comeback from last season's shoulder problems when she takes on Sylvia Plischke of Austria.

Also, ninth seed Elena Dementieva of Russia, a semifinalist at last year's U.S. Open and the Olympic silver medalist, goes against American Lilia Osterloh.

Two-time semifinalist Amanda Coetzer of South Africa, seeded 10th, encounters Sonya Jeyaseelan of Canada; 1999 finalist Amelie Mauresmo of France, seeded 13th, meets Ai Sugiyama of Japan; and No. 16 Amy Frazier of the United States battles qualifier Laurence Andretto of France.

Kuerten became the first men's player not born in the U.S. to finish as the year-end No. 1 since Stefan Edberg in 1992 with his incredible run at the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup.

The Brazilian defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Magnus Norman, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras in consecutive matches to cap his incredible rise to No. 1. He won five titles overall in 2000, including his second French Open crown. But he has not fared well in Melbourne, failing to advance past the second round in four appearances.

Seven other seeded men will vie for berths in the second round. Fourth seed Magnus Norman of Sweden, a semifinalist last year, faces Stephane Huet of France; fifth seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, the 1999 champion and 2000 runner-up, battles Jens Knippschild of Germany; and seventh seed Lleyton Hewitt has a tough first-round opponent in former top-10 player Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden.

Also, 10th seed Wayne Ferreira of South Africa meets Karim Alami of Morocco; No. 11 Franco Squillari of Argentina battles David Sanchez of Spain; No. 15 Arnaud Clement of France goes against Tommy Robredo of Spain; and No. 16 Sebastien Grosjean of France squares off with Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.

In another matchup of note, Carlos Moya of Spain goes against Marcelo Rios of Chile in a matchup of former world No. 1s.

On Monday, second seed Marat Safin and defending champion Andre Agassi advanced to the second round.

On the women's side, second seed Lindsay Davenport, last year's winner, four-time champion Monica Seles, and No. 8 Anna Kournikova posted first-round victories.