Djokovic seeded fourth, will face Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain to begin his quest for a tenth Australian Open title. However, Nadal, who will take on British player Jack Draper in the first round, will be the main focus.

At the Australian Open on Thursday, Novak Djokovic and top-seeded Rafael Nadal were drawn on opposite sides of the draw. So they can only play in the final at Melbourne Park.

Fourth-seeded Djokovic will face Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in his return to Melbourne following last year’s immigration controversy. Baena is Djokovic’s opponent in his bid for a tenth Australian Open title.

However, Nadal, who will take on British player Jack Draper in the first round, will be the main focus. Draper, 21, will compete in a semifinal of the Adelaide International on Friday. In addition to being a semifinalist in the Next Gen Championships in November.

The match between Italian Matteo Berrettini, the No. 1, and five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray will be another highlight of the opening round. ranked 13 players.

In his first match, Australian Nick Kyrgios has drawn 98th-ranked Roman Safiullin. Men’s quarterfinal seeding options include. Nadal versus No 7 Daniil Medvedev in a rematch of the Melbourne Park final from last year.

Nadal won after dropping the first two sets, and No. 3 No. versus Stefanos Tsitsipas 6 in the upper half is Felix Auger-Aliassime. No versus Djokovic 5 Andrei Rublev, as well as 2 No. v. Casper Ruud 8 Taylor Fritz in the sideline.

Iga Swiatek, the No. 1 woman in the world In the first round, 1, plays German Jule Niemeier, who is ranked No. 68. In 2022, the Polish player won the French and U.S. Open titles and reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park.

Ons Jabeur seeded second, plays Tarama Zidansek, who reached the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals in 2022. Global No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the captain of the United States team that won the mixed teams United Cup in Sydney last week, will compete against Jacqueline Cristian, who is from Romania.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal can only meet in final at Australian Openhttps://t.co/Ff4qOC6RU9

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Coco Gauff, who is ranked seventh and won a tournament in Auckland last week. Will face Katerina Siniakova in the first round, who beat her in the Billie Jean King Cup finals in November.

The women’s quarterfinals could include Swiatek vs. Gauff in a rematch of the French Open final from last year, which Swiatek won, and Pegula vs. No. 6th-ranked Maria Sakkari in the bracket’s upper half.

As well as Jabeur v. No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka, as well as 4 No. versus Caroline Garcia 8 In the bottom half, Daria Kasatkina Victoria Azarenka faces Sofia Kenin. Who won the Australian Open in 2020 at Melbourne Park, in a significant first-round matchup.