Djoker, Roger on opposite sides of Open draw
melbourne — 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 equal with Roy Emerson, who won his six Australian singles championships between 1961-67.
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, the runner-up last year. The pair could meet in the fourth round.
Djokovic starts at the top of the draw and will open against a qualifier. Things could get much tougher quickly, with a potential secondround meeting against wild-card entry Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who he beat in the 2008 Australian final, and with Denis Shapovalov in the same section. Eighth-seeded Kei Nishikori, who opened the season with a title in Brisbane, is a potential quarterfinal rival and No. 4 Alexander Zverev looms as a semifinal opponent if both players advance that far.
Federer, who has won the last two at Melbourne Park in a career resurgence, is in the bottom half of the draw with second-ranked Rafael Nadal, who is returning from an injury layoff. Aiming for a 21st Grand Slam trophy and a 100th career singles title, Federer will open against Denis Istomin. And with No. 6 Marin Cilic in the same quarter, there’s potential for a rematch of the 2018 final a few rounds early.
“I’m so close, I’ll give it a go,” Federer said. “If I made 100 at the Australian I’d take it, I’d gladly accept it — and I’ll give it all I have.”
Cilic was drawn into the same section as five-time finalist Andy Murray, who is coming back from a long-term hip injury and is set to open against No. 22-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut.
One of the most intriguing men’s first-round matches features 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic against mercurial Australian Nick Kyrgios, who is unseeded after his ranking slid from 13 into the 50s, but has tour-level wins over Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to his credit.
Williams will face Tatjana Maria in the first round, and could meet either Genie Bouchard or Peng Shaui in the second. Halep has drawn another first-round against Kaia Kanepi, who beat her at the same stage at last year’s US Open, and a possible third rounder against unseeded Venus Williams. Caroline Wozniacki, who won her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne last year after a tough final against Halep, is in the same section as Maria Sharapova and has Petra Kvitova at the top of her quarter. —
I’m so close, I’ll give it a go. If I made 100 at the Australian I’d take it, I’d gladly accept it — and I’ll give it all I have
Roger Federer