Andy Murray will start his 16th Australian Open against No.30 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry – and Novak Djokovic awaits in the third round if both make it that far. Emma Raducanu will return to Grand Slam tennis against Shelby Rogers in the first round of the Australian Open.
Former US Open champion Raducanu practised for two hours at Melbourne Park on Thursday to dispel concerns about her fitness. The world No.299, who played her first event for nearly nine months in Auckland last week, pulled out of two exhibition matches in the Victorian capital this week.
And after missing the last three Majors after undergoing wrist and ankle surgeries last May, she will play first against world No.156 Rogers. The American veteran, 31, is making her eighth appearance here and reached the fourth round in 2022. The former world No.30 has been out of action since Wimbledon because of an abdominal injury and has not played a warm-up event.
The winner will face either No.22 seed Sorana Cirstea or China’s Wang Yafan in the second round. British No.1 Katie Boulter will start against world No.73 Yue Yuan.
World No.1 Iga Swiatek faces former champion Sofia Kenin in the first round while No.3 seed Elena Rybakina plays Karolina Pliskova. Former world No.1 Naomi Osaka will face No.16 seed Caroline Garcia on her return to the Majors while wildcard Caroline Wozniacki is up against No.20 seed Magda Linette.
Andy Murray will start his latest major against Argentine Etcheverry. The claycourt specialist reached last year’s French Open quarter-finals but has won only one match in his two appearances here.
The winner will face either French veteran Gael Monfils or German Yannick Hanfmann in the second round with defending champion Djokovic up next in round three.
The 10-time champion here, who will face a lucky loser or qualifier in the first round, is the red-hot favourite to set a new singles record of 25 Grand Slam titles. The Serb enjoys a 25-11 winning record against the Scot, including all four finals where they met here. The two 36-year-olds last met in the final of the 2017 Qatar Open.
British No.1 Cam Norrie will start against Juan Pablo Varlilas of Peru. Jack Draper opens against American Marcus Giron while Dan Evans faces a tricky tie against Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
