Defending champion Rafael Nadal and women’s world number 1 Iga Swiatek have been named top men’s and women’s seeds for the Australian Open.
The draw for the first grand slam of the year has also been announced.
Both Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek won two grand slams last year with the Spaniard winning the Australian and French Open while Swiatek won the French and US Open titles.
Nadal will kick off his title defence against England’s Jack Draper as he looks for his first win of the 2023 season after a successful but injury-plagued 2022. The Spaniard could meet last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev in the last eight.
Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, will begin his quest for a record-extending 10th Australian Open title against Roberto Carballes Baena. The 4th seed is in line to meet local hope Nick Kyrgios in the final 8.
Second seed Casper Ruud – twice a runner-up on the Grand Slam stage last year – will take on Tomas Machac in the first round with five-time runner-up Andy Murray playing Matteo Berrettini while fifth seed Andrey Rublev meets wildcard Dominic Thiem in another first-round match.
Over at the women’s side of the draw, Swiatek, who has dominated tennis the past year, will face Germany’s, Jule Niemeier as she looks to add a first Australian Open crown to her trophy cabinet.
The Pole could potentially face seventh seed Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals and third seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.
World number two Ons Jabeur will begin her attempt to become the first Arab player to claim a Grand Slam singles title against Tamara Zidansek.
The women’s draw is guaranteed to see a new champion crowned this year after Ash Barty’s retirement.
Men’s top 10 seeds for Australian Open:
1) Rafael Nadal, 2) Casper Ruud 3) Stefanos Tsitsipas 4) Novak Djokovic 5) Andrey Rublev 6) Felix Auger-Aliassime 7) Daniil Medvedev 8) Taylor Fritz 9) Holger Rune 10) Hubert Hurkacz
Women’s Top 10 Seeds for Australian Open:
1) Iga Swiatek 2) Ons Jabeur 3) Jessica Pegula 4) Caroline Garcia 5) Aryna Sabalenka 6) Maria Sakkari 7) Coco Gauff 8) Daria Kasatkina 9) Veronika Kudermetova 10) Madison Keys
For the complete Australian Open draws visit this link.
