Related Post
A potential semi-final clash with defending champion Sofia Kenin could be on the cards for Ash Barty at the Australian Open, while Nick Kyrgios might face Dominic Thiem as early as the third round.
Key points:
- Barty plays Danka Kovinic in the opening round
- Kyrgios will open his Melbourne Park campaign against Frederico Ferreira Silva
- Alex de Minaur faces controversial American Tennys Sandgren in the first round
Both the women’s and men’s draw were held on Friday afternoon in the wake of the news all Australian Open quarantine participants returned negative results following a positive COVID-19 test for a worker in the Grand Hyatt.
Barty has drawn Montenegrin Danka Kovinic, who is ranked 77 in the world, in the opening round.
Should the world number one win through she may meet fellow Australian Daria Gavrilova in the second round. Gavrilova, a wildcard in the women’s draw, will play Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo in her opening match.
Barty lost to Kenin in the Australian Open semi-finals just over 12 months ago and another meeting in the last four looms should they advance that deep in the tournament.
The unseeded Kyrgios, ranked 47, will open his Melbourne Park campaign against Portuguese qualifier Frederico Ferreira Silva.
But US Open champion Thiem, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2020 men’s final, will be his third-round opponent if they both progress to the last 32.
Thiem is seeded three in the men’s draw.
Australia’s top-ranked men’s player Alex de Minaur, seeded 21 in Melbourne, will play controversial American Tennys Sandgren in the first round.
De Minaur and second seed Rafael Nadal are in the same half of the men’s draw and could face each other in the fourth round should they progress to the last 16.
Men’s world number one Novak Djokovic will meet veteran Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the first round.
More to come.
