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Opinion
The men’s and women’s singles draws for the 2021 Australian Open are now known, and as you can always expect at this time of year, there will be some cracking matches to watch over the next fortnight.
I will start in the men’s draw, where Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the top two seeds meaning they cannot face each other until the final. Neither can Dominic Thiem or Daniil Medvedev, who have been assigned to Djokovic’s and Nadal’s sides of the draw respectively.
Top seed and eight-times champion Djokovic will kick off his bid for a record-extending ninth title against veteran Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, a quarter-finalist in 2013.
Chardy is the first hurdle in a potentially tricky path for the Serb, after which he could face 2019 quarter-finalist Frances Tiafoe in the second round, and 27th seed Taylor Fritz in the third round.
The fourth round could see him lined up against either 14th seed Milos Raonic, or 2014 champion and 17th seed Stan Wawrinka. Should the latter match-up occur, it would be the fourth time that Djokovic and Wawrinka meet in main draw action at the Australian Open.
The pair notably contested five-set matches in consecutive years between 2013-15, with Djokovic winning 12-10 in the final set in the last 16 in 2013, Wawrinka 9-7 in the quarter-final in 2014, and the Serb claiming the final set 6-0 in the semi-final in 2015.
Also in this section of the draw is Australian John Millman, who is up against Corentin Moutet in the first round, with Raonic his likely second-round opponent.
The second-highest seed in this quarter of the draw is last year’s US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev, who starts off against little-known American Marcos Giron and should not face any serious opposition until the fourth round, where tenth seed Gael Monfils could await.
Moving down the draw, third seed Dominic Thiem leads the second quarter of the draw, which means that should he reach the semi-finals, he could find Djokovic blocking his path to a second consecutive final at Melbourne Park.
(Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images)
Thiem is up against Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round, with either French 29th seed Ugo Humbert or local favourite Nick Kyrgios looming as his possible third-round opponent.
Kyrgios, who is unseeded having not played for nearly 12 months, faces Portuguese qualifier Frederico Ferriera Silva in the opening round.
Thiem and Kyrgios are part of a blockbuster third section of the draw, which also includes Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who faces former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori in his first match, as well as Grigor Dimitrov and Marin Cilic, who will face each other also in the first round.
Nishikori and Cilic could reprise their 2014 US Open championship showdown in the third round, though it is unlikely given they face seeded opposition in their opening-round matches.
The next highest seed after Thiem in this quarter of the draw is eighth-seeded Diego Schwartzman, who upset the Austrian in the quarter-finals of the French Open last year and also boasts a win against Rafael Nadal on the clay courts of Rome.
Turning the page over now, where seventh-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev will start off against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann and could face a fourth-round clash against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, who is seeded 12th.
Whichever player goes on to reach the quarter-finals will very likely face fourth seed Daniil Medvedev, who faces a tricky first-up clash against Canadian veteran Vasek Pospisil.
The 13th seed David Goffin is also in this quarter of the draw, with Australian Alexei Popyrin his first opponent, after which he could face 22nd seed Borna Coric and Medvedev in the third and fourth rounds respectively.
In the seventh section, fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas faces a tricky first-up clash against French veteran Gilles Simon, who notably took Roger Federer to five sets in a second-round match just over a decade ago in 2011.
Injury-prone Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis looms as the Greek star’s second-round opponent, while either Italian ninth seed Matteo Berrettini or former Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson, who will face each other in the first round, could await in the last 16.
(Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
Down at the bottom of the draw, Rafael Nadal will begin his bid for a record-breaking 21st major title against Serb Laslo Dere, and is not expected to be threatened until the fourth round where he could be lined up against either Fabio Fognini or Alex de Minaur.
Fognini can boast a win against Nadal at grand slam level, being the only player to ever come from two-sets-to-love down to defeat the Spaniard at this level, doing so at the 2015 US Open, while de Minaur took the 34-year-old to three sets at last year’s ATP Cup.
De Minaur, who is Australia’s highest-ranked man, faces Tennys Sandgren, who held multiple match points against Roger Federer in the quarter-finals last year, in his first match. A match with Fognini is possibly awaiting in the third round.
Should there be no major upsets, the quarter-finals onward are projected to look like this.
Quarter-finals
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [6] Alexander Zverev (GER)
[3] Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs [8] Diego Schwartzman (ARG)
[7] Andrey Rublev (RUS) vs [4] Danill Medvedev (RUS)
[5] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Semi-finals
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [3] Dominic Thiem (AUT)
[4] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Final
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) defeats [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
I will now turn my attention to the women’s draw, where Ashleigh Barty and Simona Halep are the top two seeds, meaning they are to be kept apart until the championship decider, should both get that far.
After starting off against Danka Kovinic, Barty could face compatriot Daria Gavrilova in the second round, the former US Open junior champion having been granted a wildcard into the tournament after struggling with injuries in the past few years.
(Chaz Niell/Getty Images)
The Queenslander could then face 29th-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the third round, and then 16th seed Petra Martic in the last 16.
Beyond that, the 24-year-old is projected to face either Karolina Pliskova, who is seeded sixth, or Belinda Bencic in the quarter-finals.
Pliskova is drawn to face Jasmine Paolini in her first match, with either 25th seeded compatriot Karolina Muchova or former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko blocking her path to a fourth-round engagement against Bencic.
The 11th-seeded Bencic faces Lauren Davis in her first match, after which she could face two-time grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round, and 18th seed Elise Mertens in the third.
Reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, seeded fourth, is the leading name in the third quarter of the draw meaning she could face a rematch against Ashleigh Barty in the semi-finals, should both players advance that far.
She is up against Australian wildcard Maddison Inglis in the first round, after which she could face Anastasija Sevastova, former US Open quarter-finalist Donna Vekic, and 2016 semi-finalist Johanna Konta in that order, before a quarter-final engagement against Elina Svitolina.
Svitolina, seeded fifth, leads a blockbuster fourth section of the draw, which includes American teenage sensation Coco Gauff, whom she could face in the second round, former grand slam champions Sloane Stephens, Victoria Azarenka and Samantha Stosur, and 20th seed Maria Sakkari.
Azarenka is up against Jessie Pegula in her opening match, after which she is guaranteed to be facing a local player, with Stosur to face compatriot Destanee Aiava in the first round.
(Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)
Sakkari is up against Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic in her first match, while Stephens, who is unseeded, could line up a third-round showdown against Svitolina.
Further down the draw, eighth seed Bianca Andreescu will play her first grand slam match since winning the 2019 US Open (after skipping the entire 2020 season due to injury) when she comes up against Romanian lucky loser Mihaela Buzarnescu.
The 20-year-old faces a tricky path to the quarter-finals, with possible matches against Tsvetana Pironkova (a former Wimbledon semi-finalist), the ageless Venus Williams and ninth seed Petra Kvitova in the second, third and fourth rounds respectively.
Williams could face former French Open finalist Sara Errani in the second round, if both win their respective first-round matches against Kirsten Flipkens and Wang Qiang, who notably upset Serena Williams in the third round last year.
Kvitova, runner-up here in 2019, faces Belgian Greet Minnen in her first match and could then face Sorana Cirstea, Marketa Vondrousova and Andreescu before a potential quarter-final clash against third seed Naomi Osaka.
Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has copped the short straw, drawn to face Osaka in the first round. Also in this section of the draw are 14th seed Garbine Muguruza and 2016 champion Angelique Kerber, who could face each other for a shot at Osaka in the last 16.
(PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images)
In section seven, seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka and tenth seed Serena Williams, who is gunning for a record-equalling 24th major singles title, are projected to face off in the last 16 with the prize a quarter-final showdown against second seed Simona Halep.
Williams, who is aiming to become the first man or woman in the Open era to win a major title in four separate decades, is up against German Laura Siegemund in the first round and could face compatriot Alison Riske in the last 32 for a shot at Sabalenka in the fourth round.
At the bottom of the draw, Halep will face Australian Lizette Cabrera in her opening match and is projected to face 15th seed and reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek, who is seeded at a major for the first time after her breakthrough at Roland Garros last year, in the fourth round.
Should there be no major upsets, the quarter-finals onward are projected to look like this.
Quarter-finals
[1] Ashleigh Barty (AUS) vs [6] Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
[4] Sofia Kenin (USA) vs [5] Elina Svitolina (UKR)
[8] Bianca Andreescu (CAN) vs [3] Naomi Osaka (JPN)
[7] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) vs [2] Simona Halep (ROU)
Semi-finals
[1] Ashleigh Barty (AUS) vs [4] Sofia Kenin (USA)
[3] Naomi Osaka (JPN) vs [2] Simona Halep (ROU)
Final
[2] Simona Halep (ROU) defeats [1] Ashleigh Barty (AUS)
Play gets underway this Monday.
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