The 2017 Australian Open will begin on Monday and on Friday, they announced the official draw for the tournament.
Australian Open draw 2017: Full bracket released as Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber try and stay on top
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal say they’re healthy, but Andy Murray is the defending champion going into the first major of 2017.
Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images
On the men’s side, top seed Andy Murray will open his 2017 campaign against Ilya Marchenko. The toughest opener for the Big Four will be Novak Djokovic though, who will face Fernando Verdasco in his opening matchup. Djokovic had to save five match points against Verdasco a week ago, narrowly earning the win.
Notably, Roger Federer could face two qualifiers in the top quarter of his draw, which also includes Murray. Rafael Nadal will open against Florian Mayer, and is in the same quarter as Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils, along with the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic.
Top seed Angelique Kerber drew fourth seed Simona Halep in the top half of the draw. Kerber will face Lesia Tsurenko in her opener. Serena Williams will take on Belinda Bencic in her first match. Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska has a tough opener against Tsvetana Pironkova, while Halep will face Shelby Rogers to begin her bid.
Projected women’s quarterfinals include Kerber vs. Garbine Muguruza, Halep vs. Kuznetsova, Pliskova vs. Radwanska and Cibulkova vs. Williams.
Federer dropped to 17th in ranking prior to the Australian Open when Grigor Dimitrov won the Brisbane International, moving up to 15th himself. Nadal goes into the year’s first major ranked ninth in the world. There was a lot of talk about a potentially scary draw for both, but there is still a ton of hype around both players, who seem healthy going into a new season.
For Nadal, injuries are nothing new. He’s dealt with them off and on for years, but for Federer, there is the worry that his body simply can’t handle the rigors of a full season any longer. But both have been excited about the new season. We’ll have a good idea of where things stand after the first Grand Slam wraps up.
There are several big numbers and records to pay attention to going into the tournament. Serena Williams is searching for title No. 23, and at 35 years old it’s only going to get tougher to pass Margaret Court, who finished her career with 24 major victories.
Djokovic can earn his seventh Australian Open title this year, which would give him the most of any man ever. And there’s so much more.
The Australian Open will get underway proper on Monday. SB Nation will have full coverage of the matches, schedules, bracket and more.
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