Raonic faces tough test in Aussie opener

Andreescu is just one qualifying win away from advancing to main draw

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA— Canada’s Milos Raonic will face Nick Kyrgios in the first round of the Australian Open, after Thursday’s draw for the tennis season’s first major.

Thornhill’s Raonic, seeded 16th, will start out with a tough test against the mercurial Australian Kyrgios, who is unseeded after his ranking slid from No. 13 into the 50s.

Meanwhile, Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill will take on Pablo Andujar when the Open begins Monday at Melbourne Park. On the women’s side, Eugenie Bouchard of Westmount, Que., is scheduled to open against wild-card Shuai Peng.

In qualifying, Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga won her second-round match Thursday — 6-2, 6-2 over Valentini Grammatikopoulou. The 18-year-old Andreescu, who reached the final of the ASB Classic in New Zealand last weekend, will now play Tereza Smitkova for a spot in the main draw.

Thornhill’s Peter Polansky defeated Blaz Rola 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-3 in his second-round match and will take on Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis for a main draw berth. Montreal’s Felix AugerAliassime was eliminated, falling 7-6 (4), 6-3 to Christopher Eubanks. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will be aiming for the same record from opposite sides of the draw and could meet in the final for a seventh title. Top-ranked Djokovic and defending champion Federer share the record of six championships with Roy Emerson, who won between 1961 and 1967, before the Open era.

Serena Williams already has won seven times, 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 will open against Tatjana Maria and could meet Bouchard in the second round. Williams could also meet No. 1 Simona Halep, the runner-up last year, 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 second-round date against wild-card entry JoWilfried Tsonga, who he beat in the 2008 Australian final, and 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 is in the same section as 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.”