2023 Australian Open ATP Draw: Nadal faces tough test, can meet Djokovic only in final

| by Zachary Wimer

The 2023 Australian Open is set to begin on January 16 and the draw has been announced, and it features some interesting first-round matchups.

The tournament, which is the first Grand Slam of the year, will feature only the top players in the world competing for the coveted title. Despite missing the world no. 1, Carlos Alcaraz, who withdrew because of an injury, the draw for the 2023 Australian Open is as packed as ever.

2023 Australian Open ATP & WTA Prize Money & Points Overview - $76,500,000
2023 Australian Open ATP & WTA Prize Money & Points Overview - $76,500,000

Leading the pack is current world number two Rafael Nadal of Spain. Nadal, who has won the Australian Open twice, in 2009 and 2022, will be looking to add another major title to his impressive resume. The Spaniard will start his tournament against a very difficult opponent, youngster Jack Draper, who is one of the highest-ranked non-seeded players. If he wins, he will meet one of the American players in the second round, as Brandon Nakashima takes on Mackenzie McDonald.

Daniil Medvedev, who played the final in Melbourne during the previous two editions, will want to extend his good streak at this major even further. The seventh-seeded Russian will take on Marcos Giron in the first round, and he can be Nadal's quarterfinal opponent.

No. 3 at the Australian Open is Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek will start against Quentin Halys from France, and he can eventually meet Felix Auger-Aliassime in a quarterfinal battle as the sixth-seeded Canadian will start against compatriot Vasek Pospisil.

Andrey Rublev is the fifth-seeded player at the event and he certainly wasn't happy to see the draw. The Russian will start against the 2020 US Open champion, Dominic Thiem, who received a wild-card as he's attempting to make a comeback after an injury.

Home crowd favourite, Nick Kyrgios, is no. 19 and will begin against Roman Safiullin. In case of a victory, he will meet a Frenchman, which will be either Richard Gasquet or Ugo Humbert.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic, is in the same part of the draw as Kyrgios and Rublev and so he can meet any of the two in the quarterfinals. However, he will first need to get through the first round, where he faces Roberto Carballes Baena.

Taylor Fritz is the eighth-seeded in Melbourne and he will start against Nikoloz Basilashvili. His quarterfinal opponent can be the second-seeded Casper Ruud, who will meet Tomas Machac in the first round.

Some of the interesting first-round matchups include meeting between Andy Murray and no. 13 Matteo Berrettini, and no. 15 Jannik Sinner against Kyle Edmund.

2023 Australian Open ATP Draw:

1. Rafael Nadal (1)
2. Jack Draper
3. Brandon Nakashima
4. Mackenzie McDonald
5. Jaume Munar
6. Dalibor Svrcina (Q)
7. Mikael Ymer
8. Yoshihito Nishioka (31)
9. Karen Khachanov (18)
10. Bernabe Zapata Miralles
11. Sebastian Baez
12. Jason Kubler (WC)
13. Oscar Otte
14. Juncheng Shang (Q)
15. Daniel Altmaier
16. Frances Tiafoe (16)
17. Hubert Hurkacz  (10)
18. Pedro Martinez
19. Lorenzo Sonego
20. Nuno Borges
21. Ernesto Escobedo (Q)
22. Taro Daniel
23. Dusan Lajovic
24. Denis Shapovalov (20)
25. Sebastian Korda (29)
26. Cristian Garin
27. Yosuke Watanuki (Q)
28. Arthur Rinderknech
29. John Millman (WC)
30. Marc-Andrea Huesler
31. Marcos Giron
32. Daniil Medvedev (7)
33. Stefanos Tsitsipas (3)
34. Quentin Halys
35. Yannick Hanfmann (Q)
36. Rinky Hijikata (WC)
37. Tallon Griekspoor
38. Pavel Kotov (LL)
39. Ilya Ivashka
40. Botic van de Zandschulp (32)
41. Lorenzo Musetti (17)
42. Lloyd Harris
43. Federico Coria
44. Marton Fucsovics
45. Tomas Martin Etcheverry
46. Gregoire Barrere
47. Kyle Edmund
48. Jannik Sinner (15)
49. Cameron Norrie (11)
50. Luca Van Assche (WC)
51. Thiago Monteiro
52. Constant Lestienne
53. Christopher Eubanks (WC)
54. Soonwoo Kwon
55. Jiri Lehecka
56. Borna Coric (21)
57. Francisco Cerundolo (28)
58. Guido Pella
59. Corentin Moutet
60. Yibing Wu (WC)
61. Alex Molcan
62. Stan Wawrinka
63. Vasek Pospisil
64. Felix Auger-Aliassime (6)
65. Andrey Rublev (5)
66. Dominic Thiem (WC)
67. Max Purcell (Q)
68. Emil Ruusuvuori
69. Daniel Elahi Galan
70. Jeremy Chardy
71. Facundo Bagnis
72. Daniel Evans (25)
73. Nick Kyrgios (19)
74. Roman Safiullin
75. Richard Gasquet
76. Ugo Humbert
77. Maxime Cressy
78. Albert Ramos-Vinolas
79. Filip Krajinovic
80. Holger Rune (9)
81. Pablo Carreno Busta (14)
82. Pedro Cachin
83. Mattia Bellucci (Q)
84. Benjamin Bonzi
85. John Isner
86. Adrian Mannarino
87. Yu Hsiou Hsu (Q)
88. Alex de Minaur (22)
89. Grigor Dimitrov (27)
90. Aslan Karatsev
91. Zizou Bergs (Q)
92. Laslo Djere
93. Enzo Couacaud (Q)
94. Hugo Dellien
95. Roberto Carballes Baena
96. Novak Djokovic (4)
97. Taylor Fritz (8)
98. Nikoloz Basilashvili
99. Chun-Hsin Tseng
100. Alexei Popyrin (WC)
101. Ben Shelton
102. Zhizhen Zhang
103. Nicolas Jarry (Q)
104. Miomir Kecmanovic (26)
105. Diego Schwartzman (23)
106. Oleksii Krutykh (Q)
107. J.J. Wolf
108. Jordan Thompson
109. David Goffin
110. Laurent Lokoli (Q)
111. Juan Pablo Varillas (LL)
112. Alexander Zverev (12)
113. Matteo Berrettini (13)
114. Andy Murray
115. Thanasi Kokkinakis
116. Fabio Fognini
117. Aleksandar Vukic (Q)
118. Brandon Holt (Q)
119. Joao Sousa
120. Roberto Bautista Agut (24)
121. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (30)
122. Alexander Bublik
123. Jan-Lennard Struff (Q)
124. Tommy Paul
125. Christopher O'Connell
126. Jenson Brooksby
127. Tomas Machac
128. Casper Ruud (2)

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