Where will Novak Djokovic land and other burning questions ahead of the Australian Open draw

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  • The Australian Open draw takes places on Thursday evening this year (19:00 local time, noon UAE time), instead of its usual timing of Friday morning ahead of the tournament, and with several stars either unseeded or falling in a lower than usual seed bracket, quite a few surprises could be in star.

    The reason the draw has been moved up is because this year it is being televised and it is open to the public who can attend its unveiling on Margaret Court Arena.

    Maria Sharapova has been chosen to take part in the draw alongside defending champion Roger Federer since Serena Williams, last season’s women’s singles winner is not competing in Melbourne this year.

    The decision to include Sharapova in the draw has raised some eyebrows because the last time she was at the Australian Open, the Russian failed a drugs test that led to her receiving a 15-month suspension.

    Sharapova is the 2008 champion at Melbourne Park nonetheless and has been back from her ban for nearly eight months. She was unranked back in April when she returned from her suspension and is now up to No. 47 in the world.

    Ahead of Thursday’s draw, we ask five burning questions we’re eagerly waiting to have answered.

    WHERE WILL DJOKOVIC LAND?

    Novak Djokovic dropped to No. 14 in the world after pulling out of Doha in the opening week of the season. The Serb was the defending champion in the Qatari capital but was unable to compete due to the elbow injury that kept him out of action for the past six months.

    He will be seeded No. 14 in Melbourne, which means he could face a top-four player in the fourth round. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 4 Alexander Zverev are possible fourth round opponents for Djokovic, who is a six-time Australian Open champion.

    Djokovic has never faced Nadal at a major earlier than the quarter-finals, while the last time the Serb took on Federer as early as the fourth round in a Slam was 11 years ago at the 2007 Australian Open.

    WHO WILL DRAW SHARAPOVA?

    In her first Slam back from suspension, Sharapova drew the then second-seeded Simona Halep in the first round of the 2017 US Open. Sharapova won in the three sets, taking out one of the tournament’s hot favourites. With the five-time Grand Slam champion unseeded at a major once again, the first question on everyone’s minds will be: Who will get Sharapova in the opening round?

    WHERE WILL THE FLOATING FOUR FALL?

    We can expect some serious mayhem in the women’s draw because players like 2016 champion Angelique Kerber, 2014 runner-up Dominika Cibulkova, ex-world No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova are all seeded between 21 and 27. We should be prepared for some monster third rounds. This draw has Radwanska-Wozniacki third round written all over it.

    WHO’LL DRAW THE KYRGIOS SHORT STRAW?

    As it stands, Nick Kyrgios is seeded 17. Assuming no one above him pulls out — Stan Wawrinka has raised doubts around his participation after withdrawing from Wednesday’s Tie Break Tens — the Aussie can face a 9-16 seed in the third round. A Djokovic-Kyrgios third round perhaps? Yikes!

    WILL WE SEE MORE WITHDRAWALS?

    Besides Wawrinka’s injury doubts, other seeds with physical concerns include Garbine Muguruza, who retired from Brisbane with cramps and from Sydney with a right thigh injury, Caroline Garcia, who had a back issue last week, Johanna Konta, who retired with a hip problem from her Brisbane quarter-final and Jack Sock, who complained of a hip issue at Hopman Cup. Will any of them pull out?

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