Roger Federer’s quest for his 89th title has been given a boost with a first round bye followed by a relatively straightforward second round encounter.
In the 2016 draw the four highest ranked players were granted a first round bye (Federer, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic). Federer’s first match will be against either Australian wildcard Benjamin Mitchell or a yet to be decided qualifier. Federer has never played Mitchell on the tour so far in his career.
The most intriguing first round match will be between French fifth seed Giles Simon and former world No.8 Grigor Dimitrov. During a recent interview Fox Sports Australia, Dimitrov said that he got the ‘spark back in his game‘. If the Bulgarian has rediscover his best form, an early shock in the tournament could be likely. The two have played each other four time on the tour with Simon winning all of them, however, their last meeting was at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Drawn in the same half of Federer, the winner could face the top seed in the last eight if they overcome their second match against either Vikor Troicki or Steve Johnson.
One of the most anticipated youngsters on the tour, Hyeon Chung, will start against wildcard Sam Groth in what will be their second meeting on the tour. Their first was when Chung was 17-years-old at the 2014 Gimcheon Challenger. At that tournament Groth grabbed the win in a final set tie-break (8-6). The winner of the match will play former US Open champion and third seed Marin Cilic.
Kei Nishikori will open up against either Denis Istomin or Mikhail Kukushkin in the second round and last year’s runner-up Milos Raonic will play a yet to be decided qualifier.
Full Draw
