Federer opens defence against Phau

Champion Roger Federer will begin the pursuit of his third Australian Open crown next week against Germany's Bjorn Phau.

After a relatively smooth outing in the first two rounds, things could get a little more tricky for the world number one.

Friday's draw for the first Grand Slam of the season placed last year's runner-up, Cypriot 11th seed Marcos Baghdatis, in-form Serbian Novak Djokovic, Frenchman Richard Gasquet and Croatian beanpole Ivo Karlovic in the Swiss maestro's quarter of the draw.

Baghdatis will open against another former finalist, Germany's Rainer Schuettler, and could meet Federer in the last eight.

Sixth seed Andy Roddick and 2005 champion Marat Safin also found themselves in Federer's half of the field, setting up a potentially explosive semi-final.

Roddick could run into Safin, who was unable to defend his crown 12 months ago through injury, in the third round.

The American will open against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga while Safin will take on Germany's Benjamin Becker.

In the other half of the draw, Rafael Nadal will begin his quest to win his first Grand Slam title outside Roland Garros against American Robert Kendrick.

It could prove to be a tough test for the Spaniard as he had to come back from two sets down when the pair clashed in the second round at Wimbledon last year.

SWIFT WORKOUT

If the players live up to their seedings, Nadal could clash with Briton Andy Murray in the fourth round.

Local hope Lleyton Hewitt, seeded 19th, will be aiming for a swift workout against an as yet unknown qualifier. The Australian declared himself 80 percent fit after picking up a calf strain last week.

The pick of the first-round battles is likely to be fifth-seeded American James Blake's tussle with former French Open champion Carlos Moya. Blake is scheduled to meet Hewitt in the last 16.

In the women's competition, Amelie Mauresmo, seeded second, will begin the defence of her title against American Shenay Perry.

Maria Sharapova, who was elevated to top seed due to the absence of world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne, will play France's Camille Pin in her first match. She was drawn in the same half as fourth seed Kim Clijsters and three-times former champion Martina Hingis.

Clijsters will begin her final Australian Open fling against in-form Russian Vasilisa Bardina, who will be contesting the Hobart final later on Friday.

The Belgian could run into sixth seed Hingis in the quarters. Hingis opens against Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy.

Former champion Serena Williams, unseeded as her ranking has plummeted to 94th, will prove to be a dangerous floater in Mauresmo's half of the draw. First up for her will be Italian Mara Santangelo and she could collide with Russian fifth seed Nadia Petrova in the third round.

The bottom half of the draw also featured Russian third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, who will have to contend with a noisy partisan crowd in her contest with Australian wildcard Jessica Moore, and Elena Dementieva.