Australian Open draw LIVE: Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu, Novak Djokovic and more learn fate
Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek are the top seeds as the opening grand slam of the year gets underway in Melbourne
Emma Raducanu will face American Shelby Rogers in the opening round of the Australian Open, while Andy Murray has been drawn against the 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry and could face defending champion Novak Djokovic in the third round.
Raducanu has been granted a place in the main draw due to her protected ranking after missing eight months of last season following wrist and ankle surgeries and will meet an opponent in Rogers who she thrashed on her way to winning the US Open in 2021. All the British women avoided seeded players in the opening round, with Katie Boulter facing Yuan Yue while Jodie Burrage takes on Tamara Korpatsch in their opening matches.
Meanwhile, the returning Naomi Osaka will face a tough test on her grand slam return after being drawn against Caroline Garcia. It was one of a number of headline opening matches in the women’s singles, with World No 1 Iga Swiatek being paired with 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, and Elena Rybakina meeting former World No 1 Karolina Pliskova.
In the men’s draw, Murray takes on the Argentine Etcheverry - and would expect to play defending champion Djokovic in the third round if he makes it that far. Djokovic will open against a qualifier, while Carlos Alcaraz could meet Dan Evans in the second round, if the Brit makes his way past Lorenzo Sonego.
A meeting between former grand slam finalists Matteo Berrettini and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round was the pick of the men’s ties, while Jannik Sinner landed in Djokovic’s half with Daniil Medvedev falling into the bottom half of the draw along with Alcaraz.
Follow the Australian Open 2024 draw below in tonight’s live blog
Australian Open draw LIVE
Iga Swiatek hoping ‘peaceful’ preparation leads to Australian Open success
Iga Swiatek has learned how to cope with the pressure of being world number one and hopes a changed mindset will help her dominate women’s tennis starting with the Australian Open after she closed off a challenging 2023 with a restful off season.
The 22-year-old Pole was the driving force on the women’s tour in 2022 when she enjoyed 37 consecutive wins before briefly losing top spot in the rankings to Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka following a surprise last-16 exit at the US Open.
However, despite two injuries, Swiatek finished top for the second year in a row, helped by winning her first WTA Finals trophy at the season-ending event in Mexico in early November.
Iga Swiatek hoping ‘peaceful’ preparation leads to Australian Open success
Swiatek hopes a change in mindset can help her secure a first triumph on the Melbourne hard courts
Australian Open draw LIVE
Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray are among seven British players who have secured direct entry into the Australian Open.
Cameron Norrie is the only seed while Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage are in the main draw on ranking for the first time.
Here, we look at the British contenders.
Raducanu, Murray and every British player at the 2024 Australian Open
Cameron Norrie is the only seed while Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage are in the main draw on ranking for the first time.
Emma Raducanu pulls out of another event ahead of Australian Open
Emma Raducanu will no longer take part in the Kooyong Classic.
The former US Open champion was set to take on 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the Melbourne suburbs but is not featured on Thursday’s schedule of play.
She withdrew from a charity match earlier in the week and was reported to have been feeling “sore” following practice on Monday.
Raducanu will continue to prepare for the Australian Open, which will be just her second tournament back from wrist and ankle surgery which decimated her 2023 season.
The Brit, currently ranked 299 but using a protected ranking for the first grand slam of the year, made her comeback in Auckland last week, losing in the second round to Elina Svitolina.
Raducanu has had a raft of injury problems since her breakthrough win in 2021 and ended last week’s match with Svitolina with strapping on her right leg.
The 21-year-old has since trained at Melbourne Park ahead of next week’s tournament.
Australian Open draw LIVE
When is the Australian Open draw?
The Australian Open main draw for the men’s and women’s singles will be held on Thursday January 11.
The draw ceremony will take place at 1pm local time in Australia, which is 2am GMT in the UK.
How can I watch it?
The Australian Open draw will available to watch on a free live stream, which can be accessed on the Australian Open’s YouTube and Facebook channels.
Welcome
The Australian Open draw takes place tonight with several huge names lurking dangerously as unseeded players, including Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray.
World No 1 and 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is the top seed in the men’s draw while Iga Swiatek is the top seed in the women’s draw, with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka seeded second and newly crowned US Open champion Coco Gauff third.
Four-time women’s grand slam champion Naomi Osaka could draw a big name as an unseeded player after making her comeback, having given birth to her first daughter, Shai, last summer. There will be no return for 22-time men’s grand slam champion Rafael Nadal, however, after he was forced to withdraw from the opening grand slam of the year due to a fresh hip injury.
From a British perspective, Raducanu and Murray are also unseeded ahead of the draw. Raducanu has been granted a place in the main draw due to her protected ranking after missing eight months of last season following wrist and ankle surgeries, while Murray just misses out following a dip in form to end last season and will be hoping for a kind draw as he reutrns to Melbourne Park.
Follow the Australian Open 2024 draw below in tonight’s live blog
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