Roger Federer and Victoria Azarenka both feature in a blockbuster Wednesday night double-header at Pat Rafter Arena, while a pair of Aussies and a former finalist feature during the day.
Following Federer’s second-round match versus Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, former world No.1 and dual Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka will take on Australian favourite Casey Dellacqua.
After having a bye in the opening round, Federer will be looking to get the New Year off to the perfect start with a win in Brisbane.
Federer is yet to lose to Nieminen in 13 previous meetings, but the 39th-ranked Finn will be looking to end that unbeaten run.
In the second match of Wednesday’s night session, Azarenka will not only have to face Dellacqua but also a patriotic home crowd. Dellacqua scored a come-from-behind first-round win over Galina Voskoboeva to set up a second-round duel with Azarenka who is the second seed in Brisbane.
The schedule for Wednesday’s day session will be released later on Tuesday.
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Aussies bookend Day Session
For the second day in a row, Australian players will feature in the Pat Rafter Arena Day session. Teenage-sensation Ashleigh Barty will play the toughest match of her career to date when she meets third seed and former world No.1 Maria Sharapova in the first match of the day.
Barty and Sharapova both won their opening-round matches convincingly. And while Sharapova will enter the match as the bookies’ favourite, Barty will no doubt be the crowd darling playing in her own backyard.
The second match of the day pits fifth seed and 2013 finalist Grigor Dimitrov against the dangerous Marin Cilic. This will be the pair’s first meeting and will be fascinating to watch. Picking a winner will be difficult, can Dimitrov’s all-court game overcome the power-serving of Cilic?
West Australian Matt Ebden takes on men’s second seed Kei Nishikori in a second-round battle that’s not to be missed. Ebden was a comfortable winner on Tuesday, defeating Lucky Loser Alex Kuznetsov 6-3 6-4. But against Nishikori, he’ll be in for a much tougher battle. Nishikori has not played so far, as one of the top four seeds he received a bye into the second round, but he will be keen to begin his 2014 season with a win.