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Top seeds Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams face uphill battle in Rio

The first ball has yet to be hit in Rio, but the women are already poised to run Olympic-worthy rings around the men in the race for attention in the Olympic Games.

That's because eight of the top 10 women are in the WTA draw, while half of the top 10 men did not show up for roll call.

No. 3 Roger Federer and Swiss countryman No. 4 Stan Wawrinka are among those who bailed because of injury.

However, No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Andy Murray are in the draw and could meet in a blockbuster final, as could top two seeds Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber, who are 1-1 in Grand Slam finals this year, on the women's side.

But it's a long way to those potential finals, so let's take a look at the singles draws:

Best first-round matches

ATP: Undoubtedly, it's the pairing of two former bronze medalists, Djokovic of Serbia and Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro. Djokovic won the Toronto Masters last week, demonstrating that he has overcome that upset at Wimbledon. Delpo's career has been shattered by wrist injuries and surgeries, but the 6-foot-6 former US Open champ is a wrecking ball on hard courts and on the comeback trail again.

WTA: Eugenie Bouchard of Canada and Sloane Stephens are two of the most enigmatic players in the game. Both are richly talented, both have gone deep at Grand Slams and both appeared to get sidetracked and lose motivation and/or confidence after early success. It's a good opportunity for both of them.

Luck of the draw

ATP: Unlike good pals and fellow U.S. countrymen John Isner and Sam Querrey, Steve Johnson signed up for Rio. He was rewarded by drawing Darian King of Barbados, who's ranked No. 164 and playing thanks to one of the nine special wild card-type invitations in each singles draw. Those invites are issued on a discretionary basis in order to encourage diversity and regional development, and to acknowledge talented individuals developing under adverse conditions.

WTA: It's all happening so fast for 19-year-old No. 27 Daria Kasatkina. She must lead a charmed life because, while competing in her first Olympics, she also drew the recipient of an ITF invite, Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, who's ranked No. 181.

Toughest quarter

ATP: Djokovic truly has his work cut out. Also in his quarter besides del Potro is No. 14 seed Jack Sock, hard-serving Jerzy Janowicz and No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

WTA: Put yourself in Serena's shoes. Great as she is, the names she's looking at are Alize Cornet, Andrea Petkovic, No. 11 Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Ekaterina Makarova and No. 6 Roberta Vinci. That's a whole lot of familiar names and a significant degree of danger.

Easiest quarter

ATP: Murray was handed a pretty tough first-round opponent in No. 35 Viktor Troicki, but he likely won't complain about having aging David Ferrer (No. 7) as the next highest seed in the quarter.

WTA: All in all, it's pretty nicely teed up for No. 7 seed Madison Keys. She could meet No. 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarters, but the Polish firecracker can always be overpowered. Keys should be able to hit her way through the likes of Kristina Mladenovic, Ana Ivanovic, No. 9 Carla Suarez Navarro and Kiki Bertens.

Favorite most ripe for the plucking

ATP: Rafael Nadal is seeded No. 3, but he hasn't hit a ball under competitive circumstances since he left midway through the French Open with a wrist injury. He put his comeback on the fast track because he didn't want to miss these Games. There will be a lot of pressure -- and a lot of rust.

WTA: Radwanska hasn't won a tournament since January and seems to be running -- and faltering -- on autopilot. Her first opponent is No. 64 Saisai Zheng, who will be motivated to play these Games.

Favorite best positioned to sail

ATP: No. 4 Kei Nishikori gets Albert Ramos-Vinolas to start, then sees nobody who can really hurt him until a potential quarterfinal with either No. 6 Gael Monfils or No. 9 Marin Cilic.

WTA: No. 3 seed Garbine Muguruza has crafty but fading veteran Jelena Jankovic in the first round. If she gets by, it's probably No. 31 Irina-Camelia Begu, then Monica Puig or Polona Hercog. It could be worse. A lot worse.

Cinderella candidate

ATP: Belgium's David Goffin is in the same quarter as Nadal, who is one gigantic question mark. Goffin has had a terrific year, and he's just the kind of unusual suspect who can win a gold medal in the unpredictable Olympics competition. Winning a gold medal would be an enormous lift for the tiny country of Belgium.

WTA: Johanna Konta's star has risen steadily in the past year. The British player is drafting behind Murray but is up to No. 13 in the rankings. Her big serve and aggressive game ought to work well on the hard courts in Rio.

Match we'd most like to watch

ATP: Djokovic versus Delpo, of course. But we cheat and toss in the throw down between Germany's spectacularly entertaining Dustin Brown and Brazil's own and uber-talented southpaw Thomaz Bellucci.

WTA: Venus Williams opens against the versatile Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. It ought to be an absorbing battle between muscular, athletic tennis and clever shot-making. Besides, Venus is going for a historic fifth gold. How can you not watch?