• Australian Open

Murray to open against Harrison in Melbourne

Andy Murray is chasing his maiden grand slam title in Melbourne © Getty Images

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Andy Murray will kick off his Australian Open campaign against American Ryan Harrison.

The Scot will face world No. 84 Harrison for the first time, with either Xavier Malisse or Edouard Roger-Vasselin the potential second-round opponent. A beaten finalist in the past two years, Murray will be hoping for third time lucky, but the fourth seed will likely need to overcome defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.

Djokovic, a two-time winner of the event, will begin the defence of his title against Italian Paolo Lorenzi. The world No. 1 has enjoyed a relaxed preparation for the year's first grand slam, arriving in Melbourne midweek to get a feel for the surface on Rod Laver Arena.

"I've been here since Wednesday which is quite early [for me]," said Djokovic. "The last five or six years I didn't arrive this early. I haven't played any little tournaments. I played a lot of matches in 2011 and I feel comfortable preparing an extra week and I hope it works.

"I've been playing the best tennis of my life, especially in the first six months of last year. It probably started here in Australia. I only lost one set and it gave me a lot of confidence.

"Mentally, I gained that necessary confidence in 2011. I began to believe I could win the major tournaments along with the big names [Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal. They have been the two most dominant players in the game. They have been my two biggest rivals aside from Andy Murray."

Nadal and Federer both face qualifiers in the opening round, as the pair were drawn in the same half of a grand slam draw for the first time since the 2005 French Open. In the clash of the first round, home favourite Bernard Tomic takes on Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

In the women's draw, Heather Watson of Britain will need to be at her best after drawing third seed Victoria Azarenka. Fellow Brit Elena Baltacha will meet France's Stephanie Foretz Gacon in round one, with defending champion Kim Clijsters looming as a probable second-round opponent after she drew a qualifier to start the tournament, and Anne Keothavong faces Mona Barthel.

World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki will also face Australia's Anastasia Rodionova. While Serena Williams, who has endured a horror year with injuries, faces a stern test up against 44th-ranked Tamira Paszek, and world number four Maria Sharapova has a similarly tricky challenge in 67th-ranked Gisela Dulko.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.