The women who contested the last major of 2001 play first round matches as second seed Venus Williams takes on fellow American Ansley Cargill, a qualifier making her first Grand Slam debut.

Serena Williams, the fifth seed, will test out a twisted ankle against 1998 finalist Conchita Martina of Spain. Williams sustained the injury last week in semifinals at Sydney.

Venus Williams defeated Serena in the final at the U.S. Open -- the first time sisters met in a Grand Slam final since Wimbledon in 1884 when Maud Watson defeated Lilian Watson.

Last season, Venus Williams won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open for the second consecutive year and started this season with a title at Gold Coast, extending her match winning streak to 20 matches.

Third seed and three-time champion Martina Hingis of Switzerland faces Virginie Razzano of France. Hingis broke out of her title drought last week at Sydney, but the five-time Grand Slam winner has not captured a major since winning here in 1999. She has reached the Melbourne final the last two years.

Another three-time winner, eighth seed Monica Seles of the United States, meets Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.

Second seed Gutavo Kuerten of Brazil makes his season debut against France's Julien Boutter. Kuerten lost to Boutter last October in Basel as the three-time French Open champion suffered through a 1-9 stretch that finished 2001.

The 25-year-old Brazilian has yet to reach the third round at this event in five previous appearances.

Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, who is putting off surgery on his sore left shoulder, goes against Martin Damm of the Czech Republic. The No. 10 seed lost in the first round of qualifying last season, but that was before he captured his first Grand Slam crown at the All-England Club.

Fourth seed and former champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia takes on German qualifier Michael Kohlmann. Kafelnikov has not been beaten before the quarterfinals since his debut here in 1994. A year after capturing his second career Grand Slam title in 1999, he reached the final against Andre Agassi.

Some of the 27-year-old Russian's greatest successes have come in Australia. He claimed the first of 24 singles titles in Adelaide in January, 1994 and won the 2000 Olympic gold medal in Sydney.

No. 8 Sebastien Grosjean of France returns to the scene of his breakthrough last year with an encounter with Juan Balcells of Spain. Grosjean went on to appear in the semifinals of the French Open. He also won the Tennis Masters Series event in Paris, reached the final of the Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney and help France win the Davis Cup on these courts last December.