Australian Open draw winners and losers

The Australian Open draw is out. We've got ourselves some intriguing opening-round encounters. Emma Raducanu-Sloane Stephens, anyone? How about 2019 champ Sofia Kenin taking on Madison Keys?

It's hardly a walk in the park for any of them, nor is it for a host of some of the other top players.

With that, here is our Aussie Open draw winners and losers:  

Draw Winner: Victoria Azarenka

Azarenka has had notoriously bad luck with draws, but the two-time champion has a manageable path to the Round of 16. Seeded No.24, Azarenka opens against Hungary's Panna Udvardy. Azarenka would then would face either Petra Martic or Jil Teichmann in the second round. The first seed should face would be No.15 seed Elina Svitolina, but Azarenka holds a 4-0 head-to-head against the former World No.3.

Draw Loser: Belinda Bencic

No one who was drawn into the absolutely loaded top 16th of the draw was a winner, but the Olympic champion certainly has her work cut out for her in the first week. After opening against Kristina Mladenovic in the first round, Bencic could face last week's Melbourne 2 champion Amanda Anisimova in the second round. 

Bencic could face Naomi Osaka in the third round. Few players would want to play the defending champion that early, but few have Bencic's record against Osaka. She's 3-0 against Osaka and has not lost a set to her on hard court. 

Draw Winner: Iga Swiatek

The 2020 Roland Garros champion has yet to make a major quarterfinal off clay, but that could change this year in Melbourne, where she has made the Round of 16 the past two years. Carrying her strong form from Adelaide, Swiatek will open against a qualifier and play either Daria Saville or Rebecca Peterson in the second round.

Swiatek's first seeded opponent would be No.25 seed Daria Kasatkina in the third round, and her potential seeded opponents in the Round of 16 would be No.10 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or No.20 Petra Kvitova. 

Draw Loser: Naomi Osaka

As mentioned, Osaka landed in the toughest section of the draw and could require back-to-back wins over Bencic and Barty just to make the quarterfinals. The good news is the former No.1 looked sharp in her three matches at the Melbourne 1 250-level event last week. She will face Colombia's Camila Osorio in the first round and will face either Dayana Yastremska or Madison Brengle in the second round. 

Draw Winner: Garbine Muguruza

A finalist in 2020 and seeded No.3 this year, Muguruza was always going to be one to watch in Melbourne, and she has a good first-week draw to lock into form. Drawn into the bottom half, Muguruza faces Frenchwoman Clara Burel in the first round and either Alize Cornet or a qualifier in the second round. Her first seeded opponent would be French Open semifinalist Tamara Zidansek. 

The difficulty level ramps up in the second week, with a potential fourth-round showdown with Simona Halep. Muguruza holds the 4-3 edge. No.6 seed Anett Kontaveit or No.12 seed Elena Rybakina, both of whom looked sharp in their pre-Melbourne events, could be waiting in the quarterfinals.

Draw Loser: Emma Raducanu

Set to make her Australian Open debut, the reigning US Open champion is seeded No.17 and drawn into the bottom half of the draw. With an eye toward getting matches and playing herself into form, Raducanu drew 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round and could face Halep in the third round. 

The Five Most Intriguing First-Round Matches

[17] Emma Raducanu vs. Sloane Stephens

This is the first meeting between the two and the first match of the year for Stephens. Raducanu comes into the match off a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Rybakina in the first round of the Sydney Tennis Classic. Stephens has lost in the first round of the Australian Open in her past two appearances. 

[11] Sofia Kenin vs. Madison Keys

Keys leads their head-to-head 2-1, with all three meetings coming in 2019. Kenin's lone win came on clay. Both women come into the match with a handful of wins to start the season. Kenin made the quarterfinals of Adelaide 1 (l. Barty) and Keys is into the final of Adelaide 2. 

[16] Angelique Kerber vs. Kaia Kanepi

Their head-to-head is even at 2-2. They split their two Slam meetings (2013 Wimbledon and 2013 US Open) and their two meetings on Australian soil (2009 Sydney and 2014 Sydney). Regardless of form, Kanepi remains one of the most dangerous opening rounds at any tournament. This will be Kerber's first match of the season.

[20] Petra Kvitova vs. Sorana Cirstea

A finalist in 2019, Kvitova has a tough first round against the Romanian, who ousted her in three sets in the second round last year. This will be the ninth meeting between the two, with the Czech owning a 5-3 advantage. 

Ana Konjuh vs. Shelby Rogers

Two of the most dangerous unseeded players in the draw will clash in the first round, with the winner to face 27th seed Danielle Collins. This is the first time they will meet on hard courts. Konjuh won their only prior meeting on the grass at 2015 Nottingham, losing just three games.

More notable first rounds: Barbora Krejcikova vs. Andrea Petkovic, Donna Vekic vs. Alison Riske, Coco Gauff vs. Wang Qiang, Paula Badosa vs. Ajla Tomljanovic, Anett Kontaveit vs. Katerina Siniakova, Clara Tauson vs. Astra Sharma, Elise Mertens vs. Vera Zvonareva, Heather Watson vs. Mayar Sherif.