The 2023 Australian Open draw is out after the ceremony that was conducted on Thursday afternoon at Melbourne Park. Let’s do a quick preview and highlight the leading players in each quarter.
First quarter
The first quarter features top seed and world number one Iga Swiatek, who opens her Australian Open campaign against Jule Niemeier, the player she defeated in their only previous meeting, in three sets in the fourth round of the 2022 US Open.
Another Grand Slam champion in this quarter is Bianca Andreescu, who is Swiatek’s potential third-round opponent. But in order to progress, Andreescu will have to overcome a big obstacle in her opener, 25th seed Marie Bouzkova, the Czech who beat her in three sets in the semifinals of the Phillip Island Trophy WTA 250 event in Melbourne two years ago.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina is another big name in the first quarter. The representative of Kazakhstan has never been past the third round at the Australian Open. Her potential opponent in the round of 32 will be last year’s finalist Danielle Collins, whom she defeated in the first round of the 2023 Adelaide International 1.
Jelena Ostapenko and possibly still injured Emma…
