MELBOURNE: World No. 1 Rafael Nadal faces a likely Australian Open semifinal with Robin Soderling or Andy Murray as he bids to become the first man in 42 years to hold all four major titles simultaneously. Soderling and 2010 finalist Murray were placed in the top half of the draw Friday as Nadal chases his fourth consecutive Grand Slam after stringing together wins at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year. The powerful Spaniard would become the first man since Australian Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles at once if he can win the Australian Open, which starts on Monday. Nadal said while he was constantly reminded of that possibility, he did not feel the weight of history. “Everybody asks me this question,” Nadal told reporters Friday. “For me the pressure is the same at every tournament and the pressure is my pressure, that I want to play well and do the right things. “We will see what's going on, but (I don't feel) extra pressure.” Nadal's preparation has been hampered by illness and he said it was difficult to gauge how his performances early in the tournament would be affected by the setback. Nadal will launch his title bid against Brazilian Marcos Daniel and could face Croatia's 15th seed Marin Cilic in the fourth round. Sweden's Soderling, runner-up to Nadal at last year's French Open, has Italian Potito Starace first up, while Britain's Murray faces Slovakian Karol Beck. Former champion Novak Djokovic was pitted in the bottom half of the men's draw with four-time champion Roger Federer. The Serbian third seed, who beat Federer in the semifinals of the 2008 Australian Open and went on to win the title, is in line for a semifinal with second seed Federer based on the seedings. Federer has a first-round match against Slovakia's Lukas Lacko, while Djokovic lines up against Spaniard Marcel Granollers. The feature first-round matchup is between two-time Grand Slam winner Lleyton Hewitt and Argentina's 27th seed David Nalbandian. – Agence France
