Which hazard man Nick Kyrgios may strike within the third spherical is essentially the most compelling query to be answered at Thursday’s Australian Open attract Melbourne.
Kyrgios has been seeded twentieth, guaranteeing the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up and US Open quarter-finalist is assured to keep away from a top-eight rival till at the very least the second week – if he makes it that far.
Potentially standing in the best way of Australia’s chief title hope and a spot within the final 16 are a batch of thrilling children and a few of males’s tennis’s heaviest hitters.
If the large weapons reside as much as their rankings and progress via to the third spherical, Kyrgios will face a participant seeded between ninth and sixteenth within the final 32 at Melbourne Park.
The lethal bracket consists of former world No.2 Alexander Zverev, 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini and a number of grand slam semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta.
All England Club semi-finalists Hubert Hurkacz and Cameron Norrie additionally lurk as potential third-round hurdles for Kyrgios, as do Jannik Sinner, Frances Tiafoe and Danish sensation Holger Rune, who has simply cracked the world’s prime 10.
If he can negotiate a path to the second week for the fourth time, Kyrgios may face reigning champion Rafael Nadal, nine-times winner Novak Djokovic, twin Melbourne Park finalist Daniil Medvedev or second seed Casper Ruud for a a quarter-final berth.
Alex de Minaur is Australia’s solely different singles seed for the season’s first grand slam beginning on Monday after girls’s hope Ajla Tomljanovic cruelly missed out on a protected place.
De Minaur is the lads’s No.23 seed, putting him in the identical place as Kyrgios – assured to not meet a top-eight participant till at the very least spherical 4.
But Tomljanovic let slip a valuable seeding after dropping two spots on this week’s rankings after sitting out the United Cup to nurse a knee damage.
The Open draw will happen at Melbourne Park at 3pm AEDT.
