2016 Australian Open: Men’s and women’s draws, key matches
The 2016 Australian Open main draw took place on Friday morning in Melbourne (Thursday evening on the East Coast of the United States).
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams will defend the men’s and women’s titles in the 104th Open, the first Grand Slam of the calendar year. Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in four sets to claim last year's men's singles title, while Williams beat Maria Sharapova in straight sets to win the women's draw.
In the men’s bracket, the projected quarterfinals based on seeding are as follows. Top seed Djokovic, who drew Hyeon Chung in the first round, would face No. 7 Kei Nishikori, and No. 3 Roger Federer would play No. 6 Tomas Berdych. On the other side of the bracket, No. 3 Stan Wawrinka would get No. 5 Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Andy Murray would draw No. 8 David Ferrer. Djokovic and Federer could meet in the semifinals.
The full men’s bracket can be viewed here.
In the women’s bracket, Williams is the top seed and will open up her title defense against Italian Camila Georgi in the first round. No. 2 seed Simona Halep will start against a qualifier. Maria Sharapova is the No. 5 seed, which sets up a potential quarterfinal between Sharapova and Williams. Halep could potentially play No. 8 seed Venus Williams in the quarterfinals as well.
The full women’s bracket can be viewed here.
Serena’s path to a repeat title begins with Giorgi, and with a win, she will face the winner of Su-Wei Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko in the second round. She could then face, in order, Anna KarolínaSchmiedlova, Caroline Wozniacki, Sharapova and No. 4-seed AgnieszkaRadwanska on her way to the final, where she could face Halep. Roberta Vinci, who memorably upset Williams at the U.S. Open, is seeded 13th and on the other side of the bracket, meaning a potential rematch could only come in the final match.
The tournament will begin Monday morning in Australia.
