Local contenders have been handed some difficult first-round draws at Australian Open 2023.
Melbourne, Australia, 12 January 2023 | Leigh Rogers
The Australian Open 2023 men’s and women’s singles draws are set.
Nick Kyrgios is the top-ranked Australian in the men’s singles draw. The 27-year-old faces world No.98 Roman Safiullin, a 25-year-old making his fourth Grand Slam main-draw appearance, in the opening round.
Alex de Minaur, the No.22 seed, will begin his campaign against Chinese Taipei qualifier Yu Hsiou Hsu, a 23-year-old making his Grand Slam main-draw debut.
Thanasi Kokkinakis has been pitted against former world No.9 Fabio Fognini, who has made the Australian Open fourth round on four occasions.
> VIEW: Full Australian Open 2023 men’s singles draw
Aleksandar Vukic and Max Purcell, who both secured their places in the main draw through qualifying today, will learn their first-round opponents at the completion of the qualifying competition.
It is the first time since 2017 that multiple Australian men have qualified at the tournament – and only the second time this has happened in the past 20 years.
> READ MORE: Purcell qualifies at AO 2023
In the women’s singles competition, world No.35 Ajla Tomljanovic is leading the Aussie charge.
The 29-year-old, who advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in a career-best 2022 season, begins her ninth Australian Open campaign against Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska.
Podoroska, a Roland Garros 2020 semifinalist, is returning from injury and has used a protected ranking of world No.39 to enter the draw.
Kimberly Birrell, a 24-year-old wildcard, has been pitted against Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi, the No.31 seed and an Australian Open quarterfinalist last year.
Melbourne local Jaimee Fourlis, a 23-year-old wildcard, meets 17-year-old Czech sensation Linda Fruhvirtova, the youngest player currently inside the world’s top 100.
> VIEW: Full Australian Open 2023 women’s singles draw
Main-draw action at the first Grand Slam tournament of the season begins at Melbourne Park on Monday.
> BUY NOW: Australian Open 2023 tickets
Book online, play today: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!
