MELBOURNE, Australia — Rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal placed in opposite halves of the Australian Open group in Thursday’s draw, meaning the holders of a total of 43 Grand Slam singles titles could only meet in the final at Melbourne Park.
Djokovic, the nine-time Australian champion, returns to this hard court tournament after missing it last year when his visa was revoked and he was deported from the country for not being vaccinated against COVID-19. He also cannot compete at the US Open 2022.
4th seed Djokovic will open his 10th Australian Open title against the Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the tournament that starts on Monday.
Iga SwiatekNo. 1 female tennis player against Germany July Niemeier, who placed 68th, in the opening round. The Polish tennis player reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park in 2022, a year in which she won the French and US Open titles.
But the main focus of the first round will be Nadal, who faces a challenging match against the Briton. Jack Dropper. Draper, 21, reached the semifinals of the Next Generation Championship in November and will also play in the semi-final of the Adelaide International on Friday.
Another highlight of the opening round featured a five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray against the Italians Matteo BerrettiniThe former Wimbledon finalist is the 13th seeded player.
Murray beat Australia Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-3 in an exhibition match on Thursday and satisfied with his form.
“In exhibition matches it is always difficult to play like it is the first round of a Grand Slam but I want to try to put everything on the court so that my body is best prepared, to see me move like that. anyway, see how. I served and everything went well,” Murray said.
The possibility of entering the men’s quarterfinals is seeded: Nadal vs. Daniil Medvedev in the rematch of last year’s final at Melbourne Park, Nadal won after the first two sets and placed 3rd Stefanos Tsitsipas compared to the number 6 Felix Auger-Alias in the upper half; and Djokovic against the number 5 Andrey Rublevand the number 2 Casper Ruud compared to the number 8 Taylor Fritz in the bottom half.
Nadal has 22 Grand Slam singles titles, one more than Djokovic.
Wimbledon final Nick Kyrgioswho has to face? Roman Safiullin in the opening round, will face Djokovic in a friendly on Friday in Melbourne.
“I’m one of the best players in the world, so I’ll definitely go into the Australian Open and any Grand Slam with confidence,” Kyrgios said.
Ons Jabeurwho reached both the Wimbledon and US Open finals in 2022, was seeded second and played Tamara Zidansek in the women’s draw.
No.3 Jessica Pegulawho led the United States team to the United Cup mixed teams championship in Sydney last week, faces Jaqueline Cristian from Romania in the first round.
Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup captain Alicia Molikwho attended the draw at Melbourne Park, said Pegula was a candidate.
Molik said: “I feel like she has mental strength and I really feel like she could be here late in the Australian Open phase.
Saturday seed Coco gauffwho won a tournament in Auckland last week, faced a tough first round test ahead of Katerina Siniakovawho defeated her in the Billie Jean King Cup final in November.
Potential women’s quarterfinals are: Swiatek vs. Gauff in the rematch of last year’s French Open final, winning Swiatek and Pegula vs. maria sakkari in the upper half of the rack; and Jabeur versus the number 5 Aryna Sabalenkaand number 4 Caroline Garcia compared to the number 8 Daria Kasatkina in the bottom half.
Another big match in the first round is the two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenca against Sofia Keninwho won the title at Melbourne Park in 2020.
