MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic drew a difficult first round opponent in Fernando Verdasco, while Roger Federer’s fall in the rankings complicated his chances at Melbourne Park as he ended up in same quarter as top-ranked Andy Murray, No. 5 Kei Nishikori and No. 10 Thomas Berdych.
The official draw for the season’s first major was held Friday. Six-time women’s champion Serena Williams, aiming for an Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam singles title, drew a challenging first-round opponent in Belinda Bencic and also had No. 9 Johanna Konta, No. 17 Caroline Wozniacki and No. 6 Dominika Cibulkova in her quarter.
Top-ranked Angelique Kerber, who beat Serena Williams in the final here last year to win her first Grand Slam title, will open against Lesia Tsurenko.