American Pete Sampras, who has won 11 Grand Slam titles but is still gunning for his first at Roland Garros, is seeded second, followed by reigning U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter of Australia, defending champion Carlos Moya of Spain, and Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands.

Rounding out the top eight seeds are last year's runner-up, Spain's Alex Corretja, Britain's Tim Henman and 1997 champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, who already has captured two Super 9 titles on clay this year.

Lindsay Davenport of the United States, who won her first Grand Slam singles title at last year's U.S. Open, is the second seed on the women's side. Three-time winner Monica Seles, who endured an emotional run to last year's final just three weeks after her father's death, is seeded third, followed by reigning Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic and American Venus Williams, considered a strong favorite after winning two claycourt titles this month.

After missing last year's French Open with an injury, five-time champion Steffi Graf of Germany returns to Roland Garros as the sixth seed. Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, who claimed her third French Open title last year, will defend her title as the seventh seed. Mary Pierce of France rounds out the top eight seeds.

Kafelnikov, the 1996 champion, is the top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time. After claiming his second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, he came within one match win of becoming the top-ranked player in February, but went through a terrible slump that saw him drop seven straight matches over the span of almost three months. Despite the skid, he became the world's No. 1 player on May 3.

Sampras has endured one of the worst seasons of his career. He has competed in only five events and has failed to win a title, also missing the Australian Open due to an early-season hiatus. Last year, Sampras lost in the second round at Roland Garros and has reached the semifinals once in nine French Open appearances.

Former No. 1 player Marcelo Rios of Chile, rebounding from a back injury that sidelined him for most of the season, is the ninth seed, followed by Australia's Mark Philippoussis, Karol Kucera of Slovakia, Britain's Greg Rusedski and American Andre Agassi. However, Agassi is a question mark with a nagging right shoulder injury that forced him out of this week's ATP Tour World Team Cup in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Rounding out the 16 seeds are Spain's Felix Mantilla, a semifinalist last year, slumping Croatian Goran Ivanisevic and Sweden's Thomas Enqvist, who moved up to a seeded position after American Todd Martin withdrew today with a shoulder injury.

Hingis captured her third straight Australian Open title and won her fourth title of the year in convincing fashion at last week's German Open in Berlin. The French Open is the only Grand Slam that the 18-year-old Hingis has not won, losing in the 1997 final and falling to Seles in last year's semifinals.

Davenport has battled through a wrist injury and illness that has limited her to only six events this season. She won her only title in Sydney, Australia in January, reached the Australian Open semifinals, and lost the No. 1 ranking to Hingis on February 8. She reached the French Open semifinals last year before losing to Sanchez-Vicario.

Nathalie Tauziat of France is the ninth seed, followed by American teenager Serena Williams, who reached the fourth round in her French Open debut last year. Williams, 17, has vaulted into the top 10 in the rankings after winning two titles and losing to older sister Venus in the final of the Lipton Championships.

Switzerland's Patty Schnyder is the 11th seed, with Sandrine Testud of France, Belgium's Dominique Van Roost, South Africa's Amanda Coetzer, Austria's Barbara Schett and Julie Halard-Decugis of France rounding out the 16 seeds. Van Roost is questionable after withdrawing from this week's Strasbourg International in France with a strained left hip flexor.

Among the notable unseeded women are Russian teenager Anna Kournikova, Australian Open finalist Amelie Mauresmo of France and Spain's Conchita Martinez.