MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Romanian and second in the world ranking Simona Halep and Japan’s Naomi Osaka, third racket in the world and current US Open champion, were placed in the same half of the bracket for the Australian Open after the draw held on Friday for the tournament that starts on Monday.
Osaka will start the competition against the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and, should she advance, she would have to fight her way through a complicated key quarter that features the majors champions Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza, Venus Williams and Bianca Andreescu.
“I saw the draw projected for me, and I actually feel a bit excited,” said Osaka, who also won the title in Australia in 2019. “I love facing tough opponents, especially at the Slams.”
Defending champion Sofia Kenin is leading one half of the bracket, as is local Ashleigh Barty, and they could face each other in the semifinals again. Belarusian Victoria Azarenka – twice winner in Australia – Johanna Konta and Elina Svitolina share the key room with Kenin.
Serena Williams, for her part, will once again seek to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. The American has not lifted a single since her triumph in Australia in 2017, and is preparing for a tournament that she has won seven times.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are also looking to set their own records.
The Spaniard and second-ranked tennis player in the world will attempt to set the men’s singles mark of 21 major tournament titles – after tying Roger Federer for the French Open last year – as he begins his journey against Laslo Djere, and may have to meet fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.
At the top of the bracket, Djokovic is aiming for a third straight Australian Open title – and his ninth overall – but the outlook looks tough. The Serbian, seeded and number one in the world, starts the tournament against Jerome Chardy and awaits Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Alexander Zverev in his same key room.
Wawrinka beat Djokovic in the finals of the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open, and has been the winner of their last two meetings.
Then there is the projected semi-final against reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem, the opponent Djokovic defeated in last year’s final to claim his eighth title at Melbourne Park.
The official draw had to be postponed one day because all the activities of the six tournaments currently being played had to be suspended on Thursday when 160 players were isolated and underwent COVID-19 tests, after a worker in one of quarantine hotels tested positive for coronavirus. The Australian Tennis Federation reported that all of the players – and all of the 507 people who had to isolate themselves after being quarantined at the hotel – tested negative.
