Rafael Nadal will need to hit the ground running in his Brisbane International debut with the 14-time grand slam champion to open his campaign against 2012 runner-up Alexandr Dolgopolov.
The fifth-seeded Spaniard will carry a 5-2 head-to-head record into his first-round match, however the Ukrainian has won their two most recent clashes.
The path does not get any easier for Nadal thereafter with a quarterfinal showdown with top seed and defending champion Milos Raonic on the cards and fourth seed Dominic Thiem or seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov potentially waiting in the semifinals should he find a way past Raonic.
Raonic has a first-round bye and will face either Sam Querrey or Diego Schwartzman in the second round, while Thiem will start his run in the second round against either Australian wildcard Sam Groth or Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Two-time semifinalist, Aussie Bernard Tomic, faces a challenging opener against dogged eighth seed David Ferrer. The Spaniard is making his Brisbane International debut and will carry a narrow 3-2 head-to-head record into the match.
Should Tomic spring the upset he can expect to take on either his countryman, wildcard Jordan Thompson, or Swedish wildcard Elias Ymer.
Third seed Kei Nishikori will play either Gilles Muller or a qualifier after a first-round bye with a potential quarterfinal with Ferrer or Tomic.
Three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka meets either Viktor Troicki or a qualifier in his Brisbane debut with French sixth seed Lucas Pouille on track to meet him in the quarterfinals.