Roger Federer will begin his bid to equal Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles against Italian Andreas Seppi in the first round of the Australian Open next week. World number one Rafael Nadal, who snapped Federer's record 237-week stint as world number one last August, will meet Belgium's Christophe Rochus after the draw was made at Melbourne Park on Friday. Champion Novak Djokovic was drawn to meet a qualifier in his opening match but if the seeds live up to their billing, he could be on another collision course with Federer in the semifinals. Fourth seed Andy Murray, tipped to end Britain's 73-year wait for a men's Grand Slam champion, was slotted into the same half of the draw as Nadal and will open his account against Romania's Andrei Pavel. Lleyton Hewitt's chances of adding to his two Grand Slam crowns looked slim as he will face 2007 runner-up Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in the first round. Women's world number one Jelena Jankovic, entering a Grand Slam for the first time as the top seed, will open her campaign against Austria's Yvonne Meusburger. Serena Williams, who defeated Serbia's Jankovic in the 2008 US Open final and is the second seed at Melbourne Park, will play Yuan Meng of China. The American, targeting a fourth title in the season's opening major, faces a tricky passage through the draw as she could run into 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round before setting up a possible semifinal showdown with sister Venus. Russian pair Dinara Safina, seeded third, and fourth-seed Elena Dementieva, the Beijing Olympic champion, will play Alla Kudryavtseva and Kristina Barrios respectively. Safina was drawn in the top half with Jankovic. Last year's champion Maria Sharapova withdrew from the tournament with a shoulder injury, while runner-up Ana Ivanovic was picked to face Julia Goerges of Germany.
