Returning superstar Nick Kyrgios has been handed a favourable draw at the Australian Open, while top local hope Alex de Minaur is in the same quarter as world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
Kyrgios will play England’s world No.86 Jacob Fearnley in the first round should the Aussie be fit enough to play.
A series of crippling injuries threatened the former Wimbledon finalist’s career, but he made his return to the court at the Brisbane International last week.
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The former world No.13 pulled out of an exhibition match against Novak Djokovic due to an abdominal injury, but remains confident of competing at Melbourne Park for what will be the first time since 2022.
He trained at Melbourne Park on Thursday
If Kyrgios gets past Fearnley then he could face No.28 seed Sebastian Baez in the second round before world No.2 Alex Zverev in the third round.
Meanwhile, de Minaur will open against big-hitting Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp and will need to fire quickly if he is reach the quarter-finals for the first time in his career.
While now ranked a lowly 82nd in the world, van de Zandschulp ousted Carlos Alcaraz from last year’s US Open and was as high as No.22 before being hindered by injuries.
If he can get past van de Zandschulp, the eighth-seeded de Minaur will play either a qualifier or Argentine Federico Coria in round two.
De Minaur’s first projected seeded opponent is Argentina’s world No.31 Francisco Cerundolo in the third round, with 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas a likely opponent in the last 16.
No.25 seed Alexei Popyrin will face Corentin Moutet in the first round, but could come up against fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in the third round.
Jordan Thompson, the No.27 seed, opens with a qualifier but is on a collision course with world No.3 Carlos Alcaraz in the third round.
Alcaraz was drawn in the bottom half and could face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic, who is seeded seventh, will play American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round before a likely meeting with 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16.
Top seed and defending champion Sinner begins his tournament against Chilean Nicolas Jarry.
Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will need to beat 2024 finalist Zheng Qinwen and semi-finalist Coco Gauff to reach the final again.
Rising Aussie stars Emerson Jones and Maya Joint will face top-10 players Elena Rybakina and Jess Pegula respectively.