Top seed and 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin starts as favourite at the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne. The Belgian player is on a collision course for a possible second round clash against Carlos Alcaraz, if the Spanish 17-year-old rising star beats Hungary’s Attila Balasz in the opening match.
In the top half of the draw Jordan Thompson will take on Italy’s Gianluca Mager, who reached the final in Rio de Janeiro last year and the quarter final in Delray Beach.
Reigning Next Gen ATP champion Jannik Sinner will open his Australian campaign against either Yen-Hsun Lu or local favourite Aleksandar Vukic. In the second round. Sinner, who trained with Rafael Nadal in Adelaide, has been drawn in the same quarter as Miomir Kecmanovic and two-time Australian Open quarter finalist Tennys Sandgren, who will play against John Patrick Smith.
In the same quarter of the draw as Sinner Italian veteran Andreas Seppi will play an all-Italian first round clash against Salvatore Caruso.
Sinner could face a possible semifinal against former Paris Bercy champion and second seed Karen Khachanov, who could be on a collision course for a match against Reilly Opelka, Feliciano Lopez or Kevin Anderson if he wins his first round match against Australian Open doubles campion Max Purcell or Norbert Gombos.
This year’s Delray Beach champion Hubert Hurkacz will play his second round match against either Pedro Martinez or Mikael Torpegaard. In the same quarter Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik will start his first match against either Dominik Koepfer or Christopher O’Connell. In the other first round matches Pablo Andijar will take on Pablo Cuevas, Pierre Hugues Herbert will meet Maxime Cressy, last year’s Sofia Open finalist Vasek Pospisil will clash against Thiago Monteiro.
