A slew of mouth-watering first-round Brisbane International clashes were set up on Friday at the official draw ceremony, including crowd favourite and 2013 finalist Grigor Dimitrov set to face No.5 seed Gilles Simon first up.
Defending champion Roger Federer headlines a field that includes Japanese star Kei Nishikori, 2014 US Open champ Marin Cilic, big-serving Milos Raonic and a host of Australians, led by No.7 seed Bernard Tomic.
Tomic is included in one of those can’t-miss openers, doing battle with French veteran Nicolas Mahut. Australians Ben Mitchell, Sam Groth, John-Patrick Smith and James Duckworth are also set to return to the Queensland Tennis Centre this week.
Mitchell, a wild card, will play first against a qualifier and then would play the almighty Federer should he make it through that match. The 23-year-old world No.231 became a father last month. Fellow father Federer would be a tough foe for the Gold Coast native.
Groth, a quarterfinalist here each of the past two years, opens against Hyeon Chung of South Korea, a 19-year-old ranked No.51.
“Chung had a great year last year and was voted most improved player,” Groth told reporters after the draw. “I know him, I’ve played him before, which is a positive for me. We’ll come with a plan. It’s definitely better than playing one of the top guys to start.”
Groth cut his season short due to a right foot injury, with the world No.60 hoping his fresh feeling from the off-season could again carry him to the last eight or further.
“This is my first tournament since the end of September really,” he said. “The last two years I’ve made the quarters, so I feel like I can play really well here. I played one of my best matches of the year against Lleyton [Hewitt] here a year ago, and I don’t see any reason why I can’t do that again.”
Groth is on the top half of the draw with Federer, Dimitrov, Simon, Cilic and Dominic Thiem, the No.8 seed up-and-comer. Duckworth opens against the Austrian.
“I think the Aussies did OK in the draw,” Groth said.
Tomic, for now, is the lone Aussie in the bottom half of the draw. He is seeded to meet Nishikori in the quarterfinals should they both make it that far. Raonic, the No.4 seed, is meant to meet David Goffin in the last eight.
All five Australian men have winnable openers. Smith meets American Denis Kudla. Should Groth beat Chung, he gets Cilic, who is into round two with a bye.
“I’m 28, I’m not a young guy,” Groth said. “I’ve done my time in the lower levels and I’ve worked hard to get to where I am. I should be there.”