Hot Rod’s No.1 Slam debut is a potential cliff-hanger

The American world number one and Gonzalez, ranked 35th but no stranger to the top 20, have met twice before in 2002 and the honours were split. Neither match could have been tighter, Gonzalez winning on a Cincinnati hard court 7-6, 7-6 and Roddick victorious by the same scoreline on clay in Monte Carlo.

“It’s a tough first round, I don’t know where he is ranked but I thought he would be seeded,” Roddick told reporters at the Kooyong warm-up event. “But hey, it means I am going to have to play right from the start. I beat him on clay and he beat me on hardcourts so go figure…we usually have pretty fun matches.”

While Roddick knows he has his work cut out, second seed Roger Federer will have to wait to learn his fate. The Swiss Wimbledon champion was drawn against a qualifier.

Champion Andre Agassi, in Roddick’s top half of the draw, will have the weight of a home crowd against him in his opener when he takes to the court against wildcard Todd Larkham. Another Australian wildcard with a mammoth task is 15-year-old Olivia Lukaszewicz. The teenager was drawn against Belgian world No.1 Justine Henin-Hardenne in round one of the women’s event. Lukaszewicz is ranked 922nd in the world and 34th in her country.

Henin-Hardenne’s compatriot, second seed Kim Clijsters, will face Germany’s Marlene Weingartner in her first match. Clijsters remains an injury doubt, however, after bruising a bone in her foot during the Hopman Cup in Perth last week.

Venus Williams, runner-up here last year to her sister Serena, who is absent this time round, faces fellow American Ashley Harkleroad first up. Ranked 11 in the world, Venus was elevated to third seed as part of a WTA directive.

That promotion has done Venus, who has not played competitively since losing to Serena in the Wimbledon final last July, no end of favours. She was drawn in the bottom half and has no real threats in her quarter.

Ai Sugiyama, at eight, is the highest seed in that quarter. Should she reach the semis, Venus could face the weakened Clijsters. Fifth seed Lindsay Davenport, the only former champion in the women’s draw, lines up against Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir while fourth-seeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo faces Taiwanese wildcard Chuang Chia-jung.

The men’s draw threw up a number of intriguing battles. Seventh seed and former world No.1 Carlos Moya of Spain will not relish his first-round match after being drawn against James Blake. Marat Safin, the former world No.1, plays American Brian Vahaly in round one. (Reuters)