MELBOURNE - World No 1 Roger Federer will begin the defence of his Australian Open tennis title against Frenchman Fabrice Santoro after the draw for next week's tournament was made at Melbourne Park today.
The top-seeded Swiss faces a potential showdown with eighth seed and four-time champion Andre Agassi in
the quarterfinals and could face a semifinal against Russian Marat Safin, the player he beat in last year's final.
Federer, a hot favourite having won three of the four grand slam titles in 2004, has beaten Santoro in five of their seven previous encounters.
"It's a tricky match," Federer said.
"I played him at the US Open and won quite comfortably then. But you never know, if the rhythm is a bit off, he can keep you guessing and make it difficult.
"The most important thing, though, is to get used to playing five-set matches and winning them."
Second seed Andy Roddick will begin his campaign for a second grand slam crown against Irakli Labadze, of Georgia.
Third seed Lleyton Hewitt, of Australia, was drawn in Roddick's half and is scheduled to meet the American in the semifinals.
Hewitt, who is hoping to become the first Australian man to win the event since Mark Edmondson in 1976, will be thankful for being drawn in the opposite half to Federer, who beat him in the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year.
The third seed, who has never been beyond round four at Melbourne Park in eight attempts, will meet former Australian Open runner-up Arnaud Clement in round one, having beaten the Frenchman in Adelaide and Sydney in the past two weeks.
Safin, seeded fourth, opens his campaign against a qualifier, with 16th seed Tommy Haas, the player he beat in the semifinals in 2002, a possible fourth-round opponent.
Agassi, a doubtful starter after injuring his hip in the warm-up event at Kooyong yesterday, also begins against a qualifier.
Other potentially intriguing matches include a fourth-round encounter between seventh seed Tim Henman, of Britain, and Guillermo Canas, the 12th seed.
Argentine Canas came from two sets down to beat Henman at the same stage last year.
In the women's event, world No 1 and former champion Lindsay Davenport will meet former Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez, of Spain, in the first round.
The top-seeded American, who withdrew from the Sydney International yesterday with bronchitis, could face either former champion Venus Williams, seeded eighth, or Australian Alicia Molik, the 10th seed, in the quarterfinals.
Second seed Amelie Mauresmo, of France, runner-up in 1999, could clash with former world No 1 Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.
Third seed Anastasia Myskina and sixth seed Elena Dementieva are scheduled to meet in an all-Russian quarterfinal, in what would be a repeat of last year's French Open final, a match won by Myskina.
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova could meet in the last eight in another all-Russian clash. Both players face qualifiers in round one.
The first grand slam tournament of the year begins on Monday.
- REUTERS
MELBOURNE - World No 1 Roger Federer will begin the defence of his Australian Open tennis title against Frenchman Fabrice Santoro after the draw for next week's tournament was made at Melbourne Park today.
The top-seeded Swiss faces a potential showdown with eighth seed and four-time champion Andre Agassi in
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