Potential Medvedev vs. Djokovic Blockbuster In Adelaide

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Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev could be headed for an early-season showdown after both landed in the top half of the Adelaide International 1 draw. Top-seeded Djokovic and third-seeded Medvedev could meet in the semi-finals of the ATP 250, which features four Top 10 players.

In the bottom half, which contains four players in the Top 15 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is seeded to meet Rolex Paris Masters champion Holger Rune in the quarter-finals, with a potential meeting against fourth seed Andrey Rublev or sixth seed Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.

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First up, Djokovic faces a first-time meeting with World No. 65 Frenchman Constant Lestienne, with the winner to play either Australian wild card Jordan Thompson or Frenchman Quentin Halys in the second round.

The first seed Djokovic could meet is seventh-seeded Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who opens against a qualifier. The 21-time Grand Slam champion is also playing doubles alongside Vasek Pospisil.

Medvedev faces a first-time meeting with World No. 45 Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the opening round. Medvedev has lost all three meetings with Djokovic since denying the Serbian a calendar-year Grand Slam in the 2021 US Open final, but all three matches have been tight, including a third-set tie-break win for Djokovic in group play in November's Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Auger-Aliassime, who begins the season as the World No. 6, opens against a qualifier and could play American Marcos Giron or French veteran Richard Gasquet in the second round.

Rublev faces a searching opener against tough Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, whom he leads 4-3 in their ATP Head2Head series. The victor faces the winner of an intriguing first-round clash between American Sebastian Korda, who missed last year's Adelaide event due to Covid-19, and former World No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray.

Hometown hero Thanasi Kokkinakis faces fellow big server Maxime Cressy in the first round, with the winner to play either sixth-seeded Sinner of Brit Kyle Edmund.

Editor's Note: This story was updated to remove a reference to Kokkinakis being the defending champion. The South Australian will be the defending champion at Adelaide International 2, which begins 9 January.