Grigor Dimitrov will begin his participation in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year in Australia against Italian veteran Fabio Fognini, the draw for the competition in Melbourne has determined.
Grigor is seeded 10th in the tournament scheme and in the second round could face David Goffin of Belgium. In the third round the Bulgarian will possibly meet the first seeded tennis player in Jiri Lehecka, who recently stopped him in the semifinals in Brisbane. If he reaches the round of 16, Grigor could face the 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic. The Serb, who will rely on Andy Murray in his coaching staff, opens his campaign with a duel against the American wild card Nishesh Basavareddy.
The leader in the scheme and current holder of the trophy Jannik Sinner starts with a treacherous obstacle in the person of Nicolas Jarry of Chile. Second seed Alexander Zverev opens with a match against wildcard Frenchman Lucas Pouille, while third seed Carlos Alcaraz faces Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan.
In the women's singles, Bulgaria's best tennis player Viktoriya Tomova has a tough first opponent in world number nine Daria Kasatkina of Russia. If she manages to overcome her, Tomova will play an unseeded player - Anna Bondar of Hungary or China's Yafan Wang.
Defending champion and world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka begins her title defense with a match against American Sloane Stephens. Second seed Iga Swiatek opens against doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, and third seed Coco Gauff faces an all-American clash with former Melbourne champion Sofia Kenin.
The Australian Open will be held between January 12-26. | BGNES
