For Iga Swiatek, a case of back to the future; for Novak Djokovic, a path strewn with perils old and new.
Rivalries will be renewed and star names will come under instant scrutiny when the Australian Open begins on Sunday after the draw produced a host of blockbuster first-round duels.
Swiatek will open her challenge for a fifth major title against Sofia Kenin, the American she defeated to win her first at the 2020 French Open. Kenin, ranked 38th and a title winner at Melbourne Park four years ago, is one of five former grand slam champions the world No 1 could face.
Angelique Kerber, who won the first of her three majors in Australia in 2016, could await in round two, although first the German will need to come through an intriguing opener against Danielle Collins, a semi-final winner over Swiatek two years ago. From the quarter-finals onwards, the Pole is seeded to face Marketa Vondrousova, the Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina, who won at the All England Club in 2022, and Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed and defending champion. Jelena Ostapenko, the former French Open champion, is also a potential last-eight opponent; the Latvian has won each of their previous four meetings, most recently at last September’s US Open, where she ended Swiatek’s title defence.
For Sabalenka, who starts against a qualifier, the first significant test could come in round four against Liudmila Samsonova, the 13th-seeded Russian who has won two of their three previous encounters. Sabalenka is expected to face Ons Jabeur, the sixth seed, ahead of a projected semi-final against Coco Gauff, her conqueror in last year’s US Open final.
The fourth-seeded Gauff, who opens against Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, is expected to meet Maria Sakkari, seeded eighth, in the quarter-finals.
The big unknown in Gauff’s section is how the returning Naomi Osaka will fare. Twice a former champion, Osaka gave a good account of herself last week in Brisbane, defeating Tamara Korpatsch in her first match since giving birth to her daughter Shai last summer, before falling in three tight sets to Karolina Pliskova. The former world No 1 will face Caroline Garcia of France, the 16th seed, in a show-stealing first-round match.
Similarly anticipated will be Rybakina’s opener against Pliskova. Seeded third and a finalist last year, the 24-year-old Kazakhstani is expected to meet Daria Kasatkina in the last 16 before a quarter-final meeting with Jessica Pegula.
Djokovic, the top seed and defending champion, will commence his bid for an all-time record 25th grand slam against a qualifier. A reunion with five-time finalist Andy Murray, against whom Djokovic sealed four of his 10 title wins, could await in round three, although first Murray will need to negotiate a tricky opener against Argentina’s Tomás Martín Etcheverry, the 30th seed, and a potential clash with fellow tour veteran Gaël Monfils.
If the seedings hold, Djokovic will meet Ben Shelton, the dangerous 21-year-old who reached the last eight on his Melbourne Park debut last year, in round four. The Serb defeated Shelton in straight sets in last September’s US Open semi-finals.
From there, Djokovic is projected to face Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek seventh seed, in a repeat of last year’s final. Tsitsipas, however, must first negotiate an eye-catching first-round meeting with former semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini, the injury-plagued former world No 6.
Djokovic is projected to face Jannik Sinner, seeded fourth, in the last four. The 22-year-old Italian, who will open against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, lost just one of his four November meetings with Djokovic last year, scoring a maiden win over the 24-time grand slam champion at the ATP Finals and then beating him in singles and doubles in the Davis Cup. If a seventh career meeting between the pair is to materialise, Sinner may need to get past Frances Tiafoe or Karen Khachanov in round four, ahead of a possible quarter-final against either Andrey Rublev or Alex De Minaur.
Rublev, the fifth seed, begins against Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild, who defeated Daniil Medvedev at Roland Garros last summer, while De Minaur, riding high at a career-best ranking of 10th, will play Milos Raonic of Canada.
In the bottom quarter, Spanish dynamism will collide with French élan when Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed, opens his challenge against Richard Gasquet. With the likes of Lorenzo Sonego, Dan Evans and Alexander Bublik looming in his section, Alcaraz, who decided against playing a warm-up event, will need to hit the ground running ahead of a potential fourth-round meeting with Tommy Paul, who has won two of their four previous encounters.
The Wimbledon champion is slated to face Alexander Zverev, the German sixth seed, in the quarter-finals, before a third straight grand slam semi-final tussle with Medvedev, the Russian third seed, who ended his US Open reign last September. Medvedev, who opens against a qualifier, is projected to face Denmark’s Holger Rune in the quarter-finals.
Emma Raducanu will continue her comeback from an eight-month injury layoff against Shelby Rogers, whose own physical problems have kept her off court since Wimbledon. The pair have played just once before, Raducanu brushing aside the American for the loss of just three games in the last 16 of the 2021 US Open.