Great Britain’s men’s players have been handed a series of brutal first round draws at the Australian Open. In his first main draw appearance, Jack Draper will debut against defending champion and top seed Rafael Nadal on Rod Laver Arena.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray has been drawn to face former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in the opening round and Kyle Edmund, a former semi-finalist, will play the 15th seed Jannik Sinner.
In the women’s draw, Emma Raducanu was handed a fair opener against Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch. Should she advance, Raducanu potentially faces a highly anticipated second round match against seventh seed Coco Gauff.
Nadal will be attempting to establish some rhythm in the opening rounds after a difficult few months on the court. The 22-time grand slam champion has struggled badly since being forced to withdraw before his Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios with an abdominal strain last July.
“It will be amazing to play on a big court against him, he is a great champion,” said Draper. “There are a lot of emotions, thinking about playing him, but I have to still got to do well in this week’s tournament. Whatever happens it will be a special occasion for me, still very young in my career, so it’s great to have these sort of experiences and exposure to playing Rafa on a big arena. I’ll just be trying to play well and do the best that I can.”
After losing his first two matches of the year to Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur in the United Cup, Nadal has now lost six of his last seven matches and his only victory since the US Open in August was a dead rubber against Casper Ruud in the ATP Finals.
Should Nadal survive Draper, one of the trickiest first-round opponents, there are more difficult opponents ahead in what is an extremely tough draw. The Spaniard faces a potential fourth round rematch with 16th seed Frances Tiafoe, who defeated him at the US Open. Last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev, seeded seventh, could face Nadal in the quarter-final, while third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas looms in the second quarter.
British No 1 Cameron Norrie is also a prominent figure in the top half after an excellent start to the year. Norrie will begin against French wildcard Luca van Assche, with a gruelling potential third-round match against Cincinnati champion Borna Coric.
In the bottom half of the men’s draw, which is headed by second seed Ruud, Kyrgios will begin potentially the most important Australian Open of his career against Roman Safiullin, with a potential third-round match against 19-year-old Holger Rune, who is seeded ninth.
Novak Djokovic, returning as the tournament favourite after being deported last year, has been dealt a pleasant draw as he chases his 10th Australian Open title on his return, with Roberto Carballes Baena his first round opponent. Dan Evans, seeded 25th, will begin his Australian Open against Facundo Baginis.
Despite a heavy loss to Jessica Pegula in the United Cup last week, Iga Świątek will again begin as the heavy favourite in the women’s draw. Świątek faces a tough opening round against Germany’s Jule Niemeier, who pushed her to three sets at the US Open last year. Świątek could potentially face former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, who will open against 25th seed Marie Bouzkova, in what would be one of the most highly anticipated third-round matches.
Pegula, the in-form third seed who led USA to victory in the United Cup, heads the second section of the women’s draw. The only two former Australian Open champions in the women’s draw – 2012 and 2013 champion Victoria Azarenka and 2020 winner Sofia Kenin – will face each other in the first round.
After two finals in her last three grand slam tournaments, Ons Jabeur will resume her pursuit of her first grand slam title as the second seed against Tamara Zidanšek of Slovenia. Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka, who begins against Czech Republic’s Tereza Martincová, looms in the bottom quarter, while WTA Finals champion and fourth seed Caroline Garcia begins against a qualifier. Meanwhile, Britain’s Harriet Dart will face 32nd seed Jil Teichmann in the opening round.
