Men's singles draw. Women's singles draw. Andy Murray was handed the chance of possible revenge for his Wimbledon disappointment of last year when he was handed a potential Australian Open fourth round against SW19 conqueror Grigor Dimitrov. The 27 year-old Scot, seeded sixth for the first Grand Slam of the year, might also face a quarter-final against Roger Federer, who beat him at the same stage in Melbourne twelve months ago and also gave him a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing in 56 minutes at the O2 Arena in November. However, Murray would not face world No 1 Novak Djokovic until the final and his scheduled semi-final opponent is Rafael Nadal, who has been struggling for form so far on his return to the tour. Andy Murray on court at Melbourne Park on Thursday as the British No 1 prepares for the Australian Open. Murray (right) takes a break during practice as coach Amelie Mauresmo (left) looks on. Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov is focused during a training session in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open. Roger Federer hits a return during a practice session at Melbourne Park on Thursday. R1: Qualifier. R2: Marinko Matosevic/Qualifier. R3: Martin Klizan. R4: Grigor Dimitrov. QF: Roger Federer. SF: Rafael Nadal. F: Novak Djokovic. Murray faces a qualifier in the opening round and his first seeded opponent is due to be Slovak Martin Klizan before the likely meeting with world No 11 Dimitrov, who beat him in straight sets last summer at the All England Club. James Ward, the other guaranteed British representative in the men’s draw, was placed against 31st seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain. Defending champion Stan Wawrinka could face Djokovic in a repeat of last year’s semi-final. Heather Watson was drawn against world No 67 Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria, best known for her excellent Wimbledon record. Overall it is not the worst draw for Murray, although there could have been easier potential fourth rounds than facing the hugely talented Bulgarian. When he played Federer last year he was still some way from peak physical fitness after his back operation, but he will be a different proposition this time around, should both players get that far. James Ward plays a backhand during his three-set win against John Isner at Kooyong on Thursday. Heather Watson has her eye on the ball as she claims victory over Roberta Vinci in Hobart. Having played exhibition tennis so far this season – very impressively – he will not be disappointed to get a qualifier first up and a relatively comfortable looking second round to ease his way in. Djokovic, who starts as the strong favourite for the event, can also ease his way in but his quarter has more than its quota of towering power merchants in Milos Raonic, John isner and Jerzy Janowicz. The standout first round in either draw is twice champion Victoria Azarenka against American Sloane Stephens. The two played a controversial match here two years ago when Azarenka called a suspicious injury time out when she began to struggle against the American, who lost to Heather Watson this week.
Here is a summary of the highlights for this article:
Andy Murray has been drawn against a qualifier in the first round. Murray could face Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round and Roger Federer in the quarter-finals. James Ward takes on Fernando Verdasco in his first match in Melbourne. Heather Watson will play Bulgarian world No 67 Tsvetana Pironkova.