Draw for Brisbane made

 

Originally published on 30/12/17 00:00

Andy Murray will face either Ryan Harrison or Leonardo Mayer in his first official match since Wimbledon last summer.

The Scot, who lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in a one-set exhibition match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi on Friday, has been given a first round bye – as have Grigor Dimitrov, Nick Kyrgios and Milos Raonic.

Murray, the No.2 seed, has met Harrison just once before and was a winner in four sets at the Australian Open in 2012. The 30-year-old has edged his two previous clashes with Mayer, however they have not met in over four years.

The former world No.1 remains a fitness doubt for the Australian Open, but if he does overcome his first challenge, he could encounter Damir Dzumhur in the last eight, Raonic at the last four stage and Dimitrov or Kyrgios in the final.

Dimitrov, the defending champion, will launch his bid for further silverware against John Millman or a qualifier. Kyrgios will take on Frances Tiafoe or Matthew Ebden and Raonic will await the winner of the Steve Johnson-Alex De Minaur contest.

Kyle Edmund against Denis Shapovalov is the pick of the first round clashes but Gilles Muller’s meeting with Hyeon Chung should also be intriguing.

In the women’s event, Johanna Konta has been handed a tough first round assignment against Madison Keys. This will be the Brit’s first match under the guidance of new coach, Michael Joyce.

Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova are the top seeds and have been handed opening round byes.

No.4 seed, Caroline Garcia, is in the same half of the draw as the Spaniard and will challenge Alize Cornet in her first match while No.3 seed, Elina Svitolina, will start against Carla Suárez Navarro.

Other notable first round clashes include Petra Kvitova versus Anett Kontaveit and Sam Stosur against Anastasija Sevastova.

The full men’s draw is available here.

The full women’s draw is available here.

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