MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic will start his Australian Open campaign against Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena as the Serbian seeks to win a record-extending 10th crown in Melbourne when the year’s first Grand Slam begins on Monday.
Fourth seed Djokovic is looking to equal Rafael Nadal’s haul of 22 Grand Slam titles and with the pair on opposite sides of the draw, they would not meet until the final.
With world number one Carlos Alcaraz withdrawing due to injury, Nadal is the top seed this year and his title defence begins with a first-round clash against Briton Jack Draper, who is making his main draw debut at the Australian Open.
Women’s top seed Iga Swiatek starts her bid for a fourth major with a clash against German Jule Niemeier, who was one of two players to take Swiatek to three sets during her U.S. Open title run.
“You saw how intense that match was, how tough. It’s not going to be easy,” Swiatek said.
“It’s nice also that we played not so long ago so I can take a lot from that match.”
Daniil Medvedev, the runner-up in 2021 and 2022, is the seventh seed and the Russian is up against American Marcos Giron while Australian favourite and Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios will face Roman Safiullin.
KEY CLASH: MURRAY V BERRETTINI
One of the most exciting match-ups in the first round includes Andy Murray, a former number one and five-times runner-up in Melbourne, taking on Italy’s 13th seed Matteo Berrettini.
“I feel ready to play a top player early,” said Murray, who has struggled to hit the heights of winning Grand Slams again following multiple hip surgeries.
“Maybe last year at times my game didn’t feel that great and getting a difficult draw or a tough match early didn’t feel great. I feel I’m in a better place this time to deal with that.”
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev meets wildcard Dominic Thiem, another former Grand Slam champion struggling to make his way back from a long-term injury.
Caroline Garcia jumped 64 rungs in the past year to sit fourth in the rankings and the Frenchwoman takes on Canada’s Katherine Sebov.
American Jessica Pegula is the third seed and she is up against Jaqueline Cristian who is ranked 140 places below her.
Former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu said she has recovered from an ankle injury and the Briton plays German Tamara Korptasch.
Raducanu is unseeded this year and that puts her on a potential collision course with American seventh seed Coco Gauff in the second round.
Gauff reached the French Open final last year and the 18-year-old begins her campaign in Melbourne against doubles number one Katerina Siniakova.
WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE OF MATCHES AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN?
Jan. 16-17: men’s and women’s first round
* Morning session: From 11 a.m. local time (0000 GMT)
* Evening session: From 7 p.m. local time (0800 GMT)
* Order of play for Day 1 can be found here.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
