Top seed Ashleigh Barty is under no illusion she is able to ease her way into the new year with an easy early match given the depth of field her home tournament boasts every year.
But the top seed’s hopes of winning a maiden Brisbane International title in 2020 have been dealt a sterner challenge than most with the Queenslander one of six Grand Slam champions in the top half of the draw; Barty being one of three in her quarter.
The world No.1 enjoys a bye before a potential second-round showdown with five-time major winner, Maria Sharapova, should the Russian beat a qualifier first up.
Barty won both the pair’s clashes in 2019, including in the Australian Open fourth round.
1R showdowns to watch:
Stosur vs Kerber
3. Osaka vs Sakkari
5. Kvitova vs Pavlyuchenkova
4. Svitolina vs Collins
7. Konta vs Strycova#brisbanetennis pic.twitter.com/6Eo5lbmrq8— #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 4, 2020
Should she reach the quarter-finals, she could take on either 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens or two-time Wimbledon champion, fifth seed Petra Kvitova, in the quarter-finals.
No.4 seed and 2018 Brisbane champion Elina Svitolina or eighth-seeded American Madison Keys would be her potential semi-final opponent.
In a battle of major champions, Barty’s fellow Queenslander Samantha Stosur faces former No.1 Angelique Kerber in the opening round.
The German leads the pair’s head-to-head ledger 6-3, however Stosur won their only match at Eastbourne in 2019.
Following a first-round bye, second seed and defending champion Karolina Pliskova will face an Australian wildcard in her opening match of 2020 in Priscilla Hon or Ajla Tomljanovic, with Hon having beaten her compatriot in Seoul last year.
Draw announced 👉🏼game face on 👀
Our main draw gets underway on Monday: https://t.co/XVB2loHnrq pic.twitter.com/2REyg9CNWr
— #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 4, 2020
In a rematch of last year’s Wimbledon quarter-finals crafty Czech Barbora Strycova will aim to repeat her upset of British No.7 seed Johanna Konta when the pair meets in the opening round. Konta is drawn to meet Pliskova for a semi-final berth.
Defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka returns to Brisbane as the No.3 seed and will begin her 2020 campaign with a first-round assignment against Greek Maria Sakkari. The Japanese star leads the pair’s ledger 2-1 but Sakkari claimed their most recent clash in Birmingham last year.
Osaka could face dangerous American Sofia Kenin or Latvian Anastasija Sevastova for the chance to meet No.6 seed Kiki Bertens in the quarter-finals. Bertens opens against Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska.