12 Jan 2014

Nadal has tough opening round at Australian Open

8:59 am on 12 January 2014

The world tennis number one Rafael Nadal faces a tough draw at the Australian Open, and will take on Australia's Bernard Tomic in the opening round.

Nadal, who's bidding for a 14th grand slam title, also faces a potential fourth round clash with the 16th-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori, and a possible quarter-final with Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro.

The defending champion, Novak Djokovic, will play Slovakia's Lukas Lacko in the first round as he bids for his fourth successive title at Melbourne Park.

The second seed has a relatively kind draw until the quarter-finals, where the Serb faces a likely clash against the eighth seed, Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

Scotsman Andy Murray will play Japan's Go Soeda in the first round but has been drawn in the same quarter-final as the 17-times grand slam champion, Roger Federer.