Australian Open draw 2021 - Novak Djokovic v Jeremy Chardy, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams openers

Updated 05/02/2021 at 08:12 GMT

The draw for the 2021 Australian Open has been made in Melbourne and we now know who each of the defending champions will take on in the first round. Novak Djokovic will face Jeremy Chardy to open his title defence, while Sofia Kenin will take on wildcard Maddison Inglis, plus there are tough draws for Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during a practice session at Melbourne Park on February 1, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia

Image credit: Getty Images

Novak Djokovic will begin his Australian Open title defence against Jeremy Chardy, while reigning women's champion Sofia Kenin meets wildcard Maddison Inglis.

World number one Djokovic captured a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park last year by beating Dominic Thiem, who is seeded third and will face Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round.

There are challenging draws for Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, who is bidding to win a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam and will meet Laura Siegemund in the opening round.

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Osaka, the 2019 champion, has a series of potentially tough match-ups, beginning with an opening clash against former quarter-finalist in Melbourne, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The Japanese star could take on Caroline Garcia and Ons Jabeur in her next two rounds before another tricky match-up with either Garbine Muguruza or Angelique Kerber in the fourth round.

Rafael Nadal, seeking a first title at Melbourne Park since 2009, will meet Serbia's Laslo Djere in his opener.

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The Spaniard is level with Roger Federer on 20 Grand Slam titles and looking to overtake the Swiss champion, who is not playing this year following knee surgery.

Top-ranked Ash Barty resumes her quest to become the first homegrown singles winner at the Australian Open since 1978 when the 24-year-old takes on Danka Kovinic.

Second seed Simona Halep of Romania, a beaten finalist at Melbourne Park three years ago, will play wild card Lizette Cabrera while fifth-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina faces Marie Bouzkova.

ATP Finals champion Daniil Medvedev, who lost in the fourth round in the previous two years, meets Canada's Vasek Pospisil, while young guns Jannik Sinner and Denis Shapovalov are set to face off in what promises to be a blockbuster opener.

Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has a tricky test against French veteran Gilles Simon while Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev have relatively easier first rounds against Marcos Giron and Yannick Hanfmann, respectively.

Iga Swiatek, who made her breakthrough last year by winning the French Open title, takes on Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands while Venus Williams plays Kirsten Flipkens.

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For Britain, 13th seed Johanna Konta will take on Slovenian qualifier and rising star Kaja Juvan. Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie will play one another, meaning only one British man will be left in the singles draw by the second round.

Francesca Jones will make her Grand Slam main-draw debut against American Shelby Rogers. Ranked 245th, Jones continued her remarkable story and earned her place in the main draw by winning three qualifying matches in Dubai last month.

Heather Watson will play Czech Kristyna Pliskova, who she beat in the first round of last year's tournament, while Katie Boulter meets Russian Daria Kasatkina.