Good news for Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter, worries for Cam Norrie: How British stars have fared in the Australian Open draw

Emma Raducanu will play Russian No. 26 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of the Australian Open, while British No. 1 Katie Boulter was given an excellent chance to reach the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Raducanu also drew against Alexandrova in the first round of Wimbledon, but the Russian withdrew due to illness. The 30-year-old is an extremely aggressive player but Raducanu should make the most of her opportunities as she continues to train freely after a back injury disrupted her preparation.

As for Boulter, the No. 22 starts against Canada’s Rebecca Marino, who was comfortably defeated by Raducanu in the Billie Jean King Cup final in November.

Marino’s game, with a big serve and forehand, is broadly similar to Boulter’s, but the 28-year-old from Leicestershire should be a class above. She would play either Olivia Gladecki or Veronika Kudermetova in the second round – nothing to be afraid of – before meeting No. 15 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the third round, who has defeated Boulter in two of their three meetings.

Sonay Kartal plays Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Jodie Burrage faces a qualifier or a lucky loser. Good draws on their debut at the Australian Open, but big beasts are lurking in the second round. Kartal could face defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Burrage would likely face Coco Gauff.

Among the men, the standout for the British was Jacob Fearnley, also a debutant here in Melbourne, against the returning anti-hero Nick Kyrgios.

Russian No. 26 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova awaits Emma Raducanu (pictured during a practice session this week) in the first round in Melbourne –

The antagonistic Aussie has been sidelined by injury and this is his first Grand Slam since 2022. He is in doubt about his fitness for his first-round match after suffering an abdominal injury, so Fearnley could instead have another lucky loser.

Jack Draper has a good draw against Argentina’s Mariano Navone, whom he defeated in New York last year on his way to the semi-finals of the US Open. The number 15 could face Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round and Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, so another run to the last four seems unlikely.

Cam Norrie has a difficult draw against former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini.

The number of Brits in the draw remains at seven after the two remaining qualifying hopes were lost on Thursday. Harriet Dart and Billy Harris were seeded third and 19th in qualifying, but both lost in straight sets in the final round.

Defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner has found himself in a perpendicular section of the draw, but Carlos Alcaraz is on a collision course with Novak Djokovic.

Sinner and Alcaraz won all four Grand Slams this year but are yet to meet in a major final after being drawn in the same half three times in a row.

But fans can hope for that dream final in Melbourne after Alcaraz was placed in the bottom half of the draw, away from his Italian rival.

However, the news isn’t so good for Cam Norrie (pictured at the ASB Classic in New Zealand this week)

Jacob Fearnley has been invited to take on the tournament’s biggest local draw, Nick Kyrgios, in his first match

Aryna Sabalenka was saddled with a tough opponent in the first round in Sloane Stephens, while Jannik Sinner will be happy with the part of the draw he ended up in

Alcaraz, who plays Kazak Alexander Shevchenko in the first round, will face 10-time champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals and number two Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.

Sinner could face Aussie No1 Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals and then Daniil Medvedev, who he beat in last year’s final, or Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals.

The defending champion’s first round match against Chile’s Nicolas Jarry is tougher than he would have liked, but he should be extremely happy with his overall draw.

The women’s draw saw some successful first rounds for the favorites, with defending champion Aryna Sabalenka taking on 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens and No. 3 seed Coco Gauff against Sofia Kenin, who won the title here in 2020 won.

Sabalenka and Gauff face off in the semifinals, leaving No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek quite nicely in the bottom half of the draw.