Victoria Azarenka and Novak Djokovic will be looking to defend their titles as the Australian Open gets under way on Monday. PHOTO: AFP
World number one Rafael Nadal will battle the bad boy of Australian tennis Bernard Tomic in the first round at Melbourne Park as he bids for a 14th grand slam title.
The Spaniard dumped Tomic from the 2011 tournament but will be wary of the opponent, who raises his game in front of home fans and has returned to form by making the semi-finals in this week’s Sydney International warm-up.
“I think it’s safe to say that’s a night match,” said Boris Becker, now coaching men’s title-holder Novak Djokovic.
“Obviously it’s [one of] the toughest first rounds ... [Tomic’s] playing well in Australia.”
The local hope’s horror draw with Nadal drew groans and rueful laughs from Australian media and fans.
Fifth seed and 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, the only player to break the stranglehold of the ‘Big Four’ over the grand slams in recent years, looms as a quarter-final opponent.
Second seed Djokovic has been drawn in the much kinder lower half of the draw and will face Slovakia’s 90th-ranked Lukas Lacko first up.
Djokovic’s first major test is likely to be in the quarter-finals with the eighth seed Stanislas Wawrinka, who pushed him in a five-set marathon in last year’s tournament.
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has been given no favours as he battles back from a back injury, drawn in the same quarter as 17-times grand slam champion Roger Federer.
The Briton will play 112th-ranked Japanese Go Soeda in the first round but big-serving American John Isner, seeded 13th, shapes as fourth round clash ahead of a quarter-final blockbuster with former world number one Federer.
Meanwhile, Swiss Federer faces Australian wildcard James Duckworth first with 10th seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a likely tough fourth-round encounter.
Further groans in women’s draws
The women’s draw elicited further groans for local fans, with world number one Serena Williams drawing rising Australian talent Ashleigh Barty in the first round as the American bids for her 18th grand slam title.
Serena’s draw lines her up for a potential fourth-round clash with Australia’s Sam Stosur, who beat her in the final of the US Open in 2011.
Double defending champion Victoria Azarenka, seeded second, will take on Swede Johanna Larsson with the prospect of a fourth round match against rising American Sloane Stephens, seeded 13th.
Third seed Maria Sharapova kicks off her bid for a fifth grand slam title against American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
The Russian enjoys a relatively smooth run to the quarter-finals where eighth seed and former world number one Jelena Jankovic may wait.
Fourth seed Li Na, runner-up at Melbourne Park last year, will play a qualifier ahead of a possible quarter-final clash with former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2014.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ