- Aussie is under an injury cloud days out from grand slam
- Draw has been announced on Thursday afternoon, local time
Nick Kyrgios has avoided facing a seed in the first round of his home grand slam – but he could face a daunting match-up if he wins through to the third round in Melbourne.
Kyrgios is a natural sledger and he will begin his Australian Open campaign with an Ashes battle against Britain’s Jacob Fearnley.
The Aussie is playing his first Grand Slam since the 2022 US Open and will be happy overall with his draw – but Fearnley is a dangerous opponent, having risen from outside the top 1000 to 86 in the world in a little over a year.
The first seed Kyrgios could face would be diminutive Argenine Sebastian Baez in the second round.
Win that and the imposing figure of world No.2 Alexander Zverev looms.
Tennis fans who are dreaming of seeing him face off against defending champion Jannik Sinner will likely be disappointed, as the pair are on opposite sides of the draw and can only meet in the final.
Nick Kyrgios (pictured practising in Melbourne on Thursday) has avoided being drawn against any of the biggest stars at the Australian Open
The Aussie firebrand will face Britain’s Jacob Fearnley (pictured) in his first match – with very tough tests in store if he progresses against the world No.86
The outspoken Aussie is coming into the grand slam under an injury cloud after announcing he has an abdominal strain that could put him in doubt for the tournament, although he was seen practising on Thursday in an indication it isn’t a serious setback.
Alex De Minaur is the best hope for an Aussie champion and he opens against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, the man who stunned Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open last year.
Seeded in the top eight at a grand slam for the first time, De Minaur will need to fire quickly.
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 Aussie 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 Tsitsipas a likely opponent in the last 16.
Alex De Minaur has been seeded in the top eight at a grand slam for the first time – but that didn’t stop him from getting a prickly draw on Thursday
There is also much hope around 25th seed Alexei Popyrin, whose first opponent will be maverick Frenchman Corentin Moutet – and he could face countryman Rinky Hijikata in round two.
World No.27 Jordan Thompson, who is also seeded at a grand slam for the first time, opens against a qualifier.
On the women’s side the most eye-catching draw is 18-year-old Aussie prodigy Maya Joint against world No7 and US Open finalist Jessica Pegula.
Ajla Tomljanovic plays American Ashlyn Krueger and Daria Saville faces Russian Anna Blinkova.
Overall, of the 20 home players in the draw only three will face seeded opponents, meaning there is a good chance there will be plenty of Aussies in the second and third rounds.
Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic was done no favours in the draw as he will have to face the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Fabio Fognini and David Goffin.
One of the bigger shocks came when women’s title holder Aryna Sabalenka was drawn to face Sloane Stephens in the first round.
The American is ranked 66th in the world, but was ranked No.3 in 2018, made the final of the French Open that year and took the 2017 US Open crown.
