Collision course set for historic Australian final

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are aiming for the same record from opposite sides of the draw, leaving open the prospect of them playing in the final for a seventh Australian Open title.

Top-ranked Djokovic and defending champion Federer enter the season-opening major tied with Roy Emerson, who won his six Australian singles championships before the Open era.

Serena Williams already has won seven Australian Open singles titles and is a strong contender to add another after skipping last year’s tournament while on leave after having a baby. Now seeded 16th, Williams was drawn into the same section Thursday as No. 1-ranked Simona Halep.

Djokovic starts at the top in a draw that also contains Jo-wilfried Tsonga and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. The 25th-seeded Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., will open against 82ndranked Spaniard Pablo Andujar.

One of the most intriguing men’s first-round matches features 16th-seeded Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., against Australian Nick Kyrgios, who is unseeded after his ranking slid from No. 13 into the 50s.

Williams will open against Tatjana Maria and could meet Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard in the second round. Bouchard, from Westmount, Que., will take on Chinese wild-card entry Peng Shuai.

Meanwhile, Canadian Peter Polansky lost his third and final qualifying match at the Australian Open on Friday. Polansky, the 10th seed in the qualifying tournament, fell 6-4, 6-4 to Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia.

On Thursday, Polansky, from Thornhill, Ont., beat Slovenia’s Blaz Rola 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-3 and Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., dispatched Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece 6-4, 6-1. Montreal’s Felix Auger-aliassime lost 7-6 (4), 6-3 to American Christopher Eubanks.

The Associated Press, with files from The Canadian Press