Australian Open: Nadal Against Tough Opening Opponent, Djokovic and Kyrgios in the Same Quarter

The Australian Open draw was revealed on Thursday, with Rafael Nadal set to face a tough opening match against British player Jack Draper. Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios have been placed in the same quarter of the draw. Defending champion Nadal will begin his tournament against Draper, a 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor who has already had success early on in the season. If Nadal advances, he will potentially face one of two Americans, Mackenzie McDonald or Brandon Nakashima, in the second round. Also in Nadal’s quarter is seventh seed Daniil Medvedev, leading to the possibility of a rematch of the 2022 Australian Open final between the two in the last eight. In the bottom half of the draw, Djokovic and Kyrgios will both be competing for a spot in the quarter-finals. Kyrgios could potentially face ninth seed Holger Rune and fifth seed Andrey Rublev before a potential match against Djokovic. Rublev’s first round match will be against his close friend and former world No. 3, Dominic Thiem. Other notable matchups include second seed Casper Ruud facing Czech Tomas Machac, and Sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime playing against fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil.