Men’s top seed Roger Federer will face either Australian wildcard recipient James Duckworth or Jarkko Nieminen in the second round of Brisbane International 2014, while an all-Australian opener for Matt Ebden and Nick Kyrgios will be popular with local fans.
The Swiss Maestro, who arrived in Brisbane this morning, was one of four players who received a first-round bye. The others are second seed Kei Nishikori, third seed Gilles Simon and fourth seed Kevin Anderson.
With no former champions in the draw, the Brisbane International will crown a first-time winner in 2014.
For Federer to get to the final he will need to navigate past a potential quarterfinal with seventh seed Dmitry Tursonov and a semifinal with fourth seed Kevin Anderson – two players who Federer has never lost against.
Meanwhile, in the bottom half of the draw, threats abound at every turn. Unseeded players Lleyton Hewitt and Marin Cilic in particular pose the biggest concerns for the seeds.
Hewitt will face a qualifier in the first round, while Cilic faces a tricky match-up with Croatian Denis Istomin.
Sixth seed Feliciano Lopez, who assisted with today’s draw at Westfield Carindale, plays Mikhail Kukushkin in the opening round, fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov takes on Robin Haase, while Australia is guaranteed a player in the second round with Ebden and wildcard Kyrgios drawn to play each other first up. The winner of that match will receive the honour of taking on a fresh Nishikori in the second round.
A potential quarterfinal between young stars Dimitrov and Nishikori would be an ideal outcome for fans, while a possible second-round meeting between Hewitt and Lopez could provide an early highlight.
Australian Sam Groth has drawn a qualifier, while countryman Marinko Matosevic faces a difficult opening encounter with Frenchman Julien Benneteau.
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