The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Federer drawn with Djokovic

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Federer drawn with Djokovic

— Photo: AFP

Tricky challenger: Novak Djokovic, drawn in Roger Federer’s half, could prove to be quite a handful for the defending champion at the Australian Open.

MELBOURNE: Roger Federer, recovering from a stomach virus and without a competitive match since November, landed in the same half as No. 3 Novak Djokovic and four former Australian Open finalists in Friday’s draw for the year’s first major.

Bidding for a third consecutive Australian title and 13th Grand Slam, Federer opens against Argentina’s Diego Hartfield and could meet veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, in his 62nd major, in the second.

James Blake and Tomas Berdych are in his quarter and, if seeded players progress on rankings, Federer will meet No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez in the quarterfinals — a rematch of last year’s Australian Open final.

Djokovic looms in the semifinals if he can get past a tough quarter that includes former Australian Open champions Marat Safin and Thomas Johansson, both unseeded, and former finalists Marcos Baghdatis (2006) and Lleyton Hewitt (2005).

David Nalbandian, who beat both Federer and Nadal in the same tournament twice in October en route to titles in Madrid and Paris, is in Djokovic’s quarter along with David Ferrer of Spain and former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Three-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal, the only player to beat Federer in the last 10 Grand Slam events, will have to get past fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya en route to a potential quarterfinal match against former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick.

If he makes the semifinals, second-ranked Nadal could face the likes of No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 8 Richard Gasquet or No. 9 Andy Murray, who has a difficult opening match against young Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

On the women’s side, No. 1 Justine Henin will not encounter a top 10 player until a potential quarterfinal match against No. 5 Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova has a difficult second-round match against former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, who was unseeded despite winning three titles since her comeback following the birth of son Jagger, her first child, last June. Serena Williams, who won the 2007 Australian title despite being unseeded, has a relatively easy path to the quarterfinals with wild-card entry Jarmila Gajdosova in the first round and the prospect of two qualifiers after that.

No. 3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia or 2006 Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo shape as her likely quarterfinal rivals.

Wild card meets Sania

Sania Mirza, seeded 31, would open her campaign against Uzbek wild card Iroda Tulyaganova.

If Sania clears the first hurdle, she could face local challenger Sophie Ferguson in the second round.

However, the sailing may not be that smooth afterwards as her possible third round opponent would be eight-seeded American Venus Williams. — AP

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