The draw for the Brisbane International was held today in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall in front of a buzzing throng of tennis fans.
Assisted by former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo and Spanish Davis Cup hero Fernando Verdasco, representatives from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and ATP World Tour shaped the make-up of the inaugural Brisbane International.
By chance both Mauresmo and Verdasco were drawn to play Australian foes. Mauresmo will face the re-building Dokic, while Verdasco will meet 16-year-old wildcard recipient Bernard Tomic in what will be a keenly watched match.
Women’s No.1 seed Ana Ivanovic will play Petra Kvitova, No.50, on Monday night at Pat Rafter Arena in front of what will likely be a sell-out crowd.
Men’s No.1 seed Novak Djokovic will meet promising Latvian Ernests Gulbis in what looms as a danger match for the Australian Open champion. Djokovic, however, has won the pair’s prior two meetings, so will enter the match with some confidence.
Second-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will begin his tournament in his idol’s arena against Argentinean Agustin Calleri.
Popular Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis’s name received cheers from the crowd as he was drawn to play Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen. The two have met on four occasions with each player claiming two matches.
For the Australians, Samantha Stosur will meet Russian Maria Kirilenko in a re-match of their 2008 Seoul final. On that occasion Kirilenko came out on top.
Australian Open Play-off runner-up Monika Wejnert was unlucky to be drawn alongside Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli.
In other match-ups, Brydan Klein will play Tomas Berdych, Isabella Holland will meet Lucie Safarova and Jarmila Gajdsova will face off against Peng Shuai.
Photo gallery: Brisbane International Draw Ceremony