Australian Open draw: Djokovic and Federer in same half, Nadal with Medvedev

The Australian Open draw ceremony was held on Thursday evening in Melbourne. Going into it, the big question involved Roger Federer and Daniil Medvedev: which one would get Rafael Nadal and which one would land in Novak Djokovic’s half?

For once it is actually Federer who is largely considered to be the more desirable semifinal opponent of those two. If that is the case, then it was Djokovic who got lucky on Thursday by avoiding his familiar Russian foe. Instead, Nadal and Medvedev are on a collision course for the semis in what would be a rematch of their wild 2019 U.S. Open final.

For Nadal, things will not get tricky until week two. The second Monday could feature a showdown between the top-ranked Spaniard and Nick Kyrgios, who is arguably the host nation’s best hope now than Alex de Minaur is out due to an abdominal injury. Of course, Kyrgios can lose to anyone on any given day and potentially tricky first-week opponents for him include Gilles Simon and Karen Khachanov. Nadal’s top-eight seed in his quarter is Dominic Thiem, who reinvented himself on hard courts throughout 2019 and cannot be discounted.

Medvedev will kick off his campaign against 2019 Aussie Open quarterfinalist Frances Tiafoe. Alexander Zverev is a possible quarterfinal foe for the world No. 4, but a more likely adversary at that point is red-hot Doha champion Andrey Rublev.

Federer probably didn’t want to see Djokovic in his half, but the 38-year-old Swiss will have plenty to worry about long before such a matchup becomes another reality. Hubert Hurkacz, who is playing the best tennis of his career in the early stages of 2020, looms large as a possible third-round opponent. Denis Shapovalov, in similarly strong form, could meet Federer in the last 16. Shapovalov faces as intriguing path through the bracket with Jannik Sinner likely in round two and Grigor Dimitrov immediately thereafter.

Djokovic could not have asked for a more productive draw ceremony. The second-ranked Serb not only avoided Medvedev but also has to be content with unsurprising news that the bottom half of the draw is playing first and will have two days off prior to the final. Moreover, he should waltz past a whole host of unspectacular opponents until at least the quarterfinals. The second Wednesday is when Djokovic could run into a stern test in the form of 2019 semifinalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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