Serena draws Osaka in blockbuster Miami opener

MIAMI, FL, USA - BNP Paribas Open champion Naomi Osaka will have little time to revel in her first career WTA triumph, as the rising Japanese star was drawn to face eight-time champion Serena Williams in the first round of next week's Miami Open.

It won't get any easier for the winner in a star-studded draw at the Premier Mandatory event, as the winner will face No.4 seed Elina Svitolina in the second round.

The Top 32 seeds get a bye in the opening round, as top seed Simona Halep and No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza anchor the top half of the draw, while No.2 seed and 2017 runner-up Caroline Wozniacki and Svitolina are projected semifinalists in the bottom half. 

Halep will begin her tournament against either Veronica Cepede Royg or a qualifier, while Wozniacki will face the winner between former US Open champion Samantha Stosur and Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig in the second round.

Muguruza will face the winner of China's Wang Qiang and American teenager Amanda Anisimova, who earned a wildcard after the 16-year-old reached the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open. 

In a rematch of the first round of Wimbledon from a year ago, another wildcard in three-time champion Victoria Azarenka will face another American teenager in CiCi Bellis, with the winner to face No.14 seed and US Open finalist Madison Keys in Halep's quarter of the draw.

Another wildcard also makes her home in this section, as Bethanie Mattek-Sands makes her return to action after suffering a knee injury at the All-England Club last summer. She will face Alizé Cornet, with the winner set for a match with No.20 seed Anastaija Sevastova.

Defending champion and No.11 seed Johanna Konta will face the winner of the first round match between Kirsten Flipkens and Mihaela Buzarnescu.