Andy Murray has been drawn against No30 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the opening round of the Australian Open.
And should the three-time Grand Slam champion come through his opening two matches, he likely faces the arduous task of Novak Djokovic, the most successful player in the history of the tournament.
Speaking after losing an exhibition match against Marin Cilic, Murray, who has lost five Australian Open finals to Djokovic, highlighted how much of an ask it is for any player to beat the reigning world No1.
He said: “Novak won three Slams and lost a five-set epic final at Wimbledon. I still believe he’s the favourite going in. He still looks great but I would imagine it probably doesn’t get easier.
“I know that when the Australian Open rolls around it’s not going to be easy for those guys to win against Novak in a huge match because some of them are trying to do it for the first time and win a major for the first time.”
Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu faces the experienced Shelby Rogers, a two-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist, as she makes her first appearance in a major tournament for a year.
Raducanu, who pulled out of two planned exhibition matches as a precaution after complaining of soreness, potentially faces an all-British clash in the third round against Katie Boulter. But Boulter must first beat Yuan Yue and then No12 seed Zheng Qinwen.
The other automatic British qualifier into the women’s singles, Jodie Burrage, takes on world No81 Tamara Korpatsch.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Cameron Norrie is drawn against Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas, while Dan Evans, only just back from tearing his calf, begins his campaign against world No46 Lorenzo Sonego. Evans would then face the challenge of Carlos Alcaraz in round two.
Jack Draper, who has looked good at this week’s Adelaide International, opens with American Marcos Giron in his first-round match.
There are a series of high-profile first-round draws with world No1 Iga Swiatek opening against 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
And a returning Naomi Osaka faces 16th seed Caroline Garcia while Elena Rybakina is drawn against ex-world No1 Karolina Pliskova.
