<p>Rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were placed on opposite halves of the Australian Open bracket in the draw Thursday, meaning the owners of a combined 43 Grand Slam singles titles could only meet in the final at Melbourne Park.</p>.<p>Djokovic, a nine-time champion in Australia, returns to the hard-court tournament after missing it last year when his visa was revoked and he was deported from the country because he isn't vaccinated against COVID-19. He also couldn't compete at the 2022 U.S. Open.</p>.<p>Fourth-seeded Djokovic will open his bid for a 10th Australian Open title against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the tournament which begins Monday.</p>.<p>Iga Swiatek, the women's No. 1-ranked player, takes on German Jule Niemeier, who is ranked No.68, in the opening round. The Polish player was a semifinalist at Melbourne Park in 2022, a year in which she won the French and U.S. Open titles.</p>.<p>But the main first-round focus will be on Nadal, who faces a potentially challenging match against British player Jack Draper. Draper, who is 21, was a semifinalist in the Next Gen Championships in November and will also play in a semifinal of the Adelaide International on Friday.</p>.<p>Another opening-round highlight has five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray against Italian Matteo Berrettini, a former Wimbledon finalist who is the No. 13-seeded player.</p>.<p>Murray defeated Australian Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-3 in an exhibition match on Thursday and is pleased with his form.</p>.<p>“It is always difficult in exhibition matches to play like it is the first round of a Grand Slam but I wanted to try to leave everything out on the court to give my body the best preparation, to see how I was moving, to see how I was serving, and it went well,” Murray said.</p>.<p>The potential men's quarterfinals by seeding are: Nadal vs. No. 7 Daniil Medvedev in what would be a rematch of last year's final at Melbourne Park, won by Nadal after dropping the initial two sets, and No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the top half; and Djokovic vs. No. 5 Andrey Rublev, and No. 2 Casper Ruud vs. No. 8 Taylor Fritz in the bottom half.</p>.<p>Nadal has a leading 22 Grand Slam singles titles, one more than Djokovic.</p>.<p>Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, who faces Roman Safiullin in the opening round, will play Djokovic in an exhibition match on Friday in Melbourne.</p>.<p>“I am one of the best players in the world, so I am definitely going to go into the Australian Open and any Grand Slam with confidence,” Kyrgios said.</p>.<p>Ons Jabeur, who reached both the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals in 2022, is seeded second and plays Tamara Zidansek in the women's draw.</p>.<p>No. 3 Jessica Pegula, who led the U.S. team that claimed the mixed teams United Cup in Sydney last week, faces Jacqueline Cristian from Romania in the first round.</p>.<p>Australia's Billie Jean King Cup captain Alicia Molik, who attended the draw at Melbourne Park, said Pegula is a contender.</p>.<p>“I feel like she has the mental fortitude and I really feel like she can be here late in the stage of the Australian Open,” Molik said.</p>.<p>Seventh-seeded Coco Gauff, who won a tournament in Auckland last week, faces a tough first-round test against Katerina Siniakova, who defeated her in the Billie Jean King Cup finals in November.</p>.<p>The potential women's quarterfinals are: Swiatek vs. Gauff in what would be a rematch of last year's French Open final, won by Swiatek, and Pegula vs. No. 6 Maria Sakkari in the top half of the bracket; and Jabeur vs. No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka, and No. 4 Caroline Garcia vs. No. 8 Daria Kasatkina in the bottom half.</p>.<p>Another big first-round match is two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka against Sofia Kenin, who won the title at Melbourne Park in 2020.</p>
<p>Rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were placed on opposite halves of the Australian Open bracket in the draw Thursday, meaning the owners of a combined 43 Grand Slam singles titles could only meet in the final at Melbourne Park.</p>.<p>Djokovic, a nine-time champion in Australia, returns to the hard-court tournament after missing it last year when his visa was revoked and he was deported from the country because he isn't vaccinated against COVID-19. He also couldn't compete at the 2022 U.S. Open.</p>.<p>Fourth-seeded Djokovic will open his bid for a 10th Australian Open title against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the tournament which begins Monday.</p>.<p>Iga Swiatek, the women's No. 1-ranked player, takes on German Jule Niemeier, who is ranked No.68, in the opening round. The Polish player was a semifinalist at Melbourne Park in 2022, a year in which she won the French and U.S. Open titles.</p>.<p>But the main first-round focus will be on Nadal, who faces a potentially challenging match against British player Jack Draper. Draper, who is 21, was a semifinalist in the Next Gen Championships in November and will also play in a semifinal of the Adelaide International on Friday.</p>.<p>Another opening-round highlight has five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray against Italian Matteo Berrettini, a former Wimbledon finalist who is the No. 13-seeded player.</p>.<p>Murray defeated Australian Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-3 in an exhibition match on Thursday and is pleased with his form.</p>.<p>“It is always difficult in exhibition matches to play like it is the first round of a Grand Slam but I wanted to try to leave everything out on the court to give my body the best preparation, to see how I was moving, to see how I was serving, and it went well,” Murray said.</p>.<p>The potential men's quarterfinals by seeding are: Nadal vs. No. 7 Daniil Medvedev in what would be a rematch of last year's final at Melbourne Park, won by Nadal after dropping the initial two sets, and No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the top half; and Djokovic vs. No. 5 Andrey Rublev, and No. 2 Casper Ruud vs. No. 8 Taylor Fritz in the bottom half.</p>.<p>Nadal has a leading 22 Grand Slam singles titles, one more than Djokovic.</p>.<p>Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, who faces Roman Safiullin in the opening round, will play Djokovic in an exhibition match on Friday in Melbourne.</p>.<p>“I am one of the best players in the world, so I am definitely going to go into the Australian Open and any Grand Slam with confidence,” Kyrgios said.</p>.<p>Ons Jabeur, who reached both the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals in 2022, is seeded second and plays Tamara Zidansek in the women's draw.</p>.<p>No. 3 Jessica Pegula, who led the U.S. team that claimed the mixed teams United Cup in Sydney last week, faces Jacqueline Cristian from Romania in the first round.</p>.<p>Australia's Billie Jean King Cup captain Alicia Molik, who attended the draw at Melbourne Park, said Pegula is a contender.</p>.<p>“I feel like she has the mental fortitude and I really feel like she can be here late in the stage of the Australian Open,” Molik said.</p>.<p>Seventh-seeded Coco Gauff, who won a tournament in Auckland last week, faces a tough first-round test against Katerina Siniakova, who defeated her in the Billie Jean King Cup finals in November.</p>.<p>The potential women's quarterfinals are: Swiatek vs. Gauff in what would be a rematch of last year's French Open final, won by Swiatek, and Pegula vs. No. 6 Maria Sakkari in the top half of the bracket; and Jabeur vs. No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka, and No. 4 Caroline Garcia vs. No. 8 Daria Kasatkina in the bottom half.</p>.<p>Another big first-round match is two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka against Sofia Kenin, who won the title at Melbourne Park in 2020.</p>