Appeared to be a top player embracing me (6)
I believe the answer is:
seemed
'appeared to be' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a top player embracing me' is the wordplay.
'a top player' becomes 'seed' (eg a seeded tennis player).
'embracing' is an insertion indicator.
'seed' enclosing 'me' is 'SEEMED'.
(Other definitions for seemed that I've seen before include "Was appearing" , "'Appeared, gave the impression (6)'" , "Appeared, looked" .)