(Sports) Australan Open draw favorable for Novak Djokovic, tough for Serena Williams

Five-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is in the box seat to defend his 2015 crown, after being handed a favorable draw for the 2016 tournament on Friday.

Djokovic managed to avoid his Australian Open nemesis Andy Murray on his side of the draw, as well as 2014 winner Stan Wawrinka and 2009 champion Rafael Nadal. His draw does feature, however, a potential quarterfinal against Japanese up-and-comer Kei Nishikori and a semi-final against Roger Federer.

Nadal will also relive the epic 2010 semi-final with countryman Fernando Verdasco when they clash in the first round, while 5th seen Federer's hopes could be dashed in the second round by unpredictable Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov. If he manages to win that however, the Swiss legend could also have to face Bulgarian 27th see, Grigor Dimitrov in the third round.

Meanwhile, women's world No. 1 Serena Williams will have a slightly tougher ask to defend her title, with a first-round match-up against the world No. 35, Italian Camila Giorgi, while, if she were to make it, Williams could face 16th seed Caroline Wozniacki in the round of 16 and then possibly 5th seed Russian Maria Sharapova as early as the quarterfinals.

Williams, seeking to win her seventh Australian Open title, pulled out of a lead-up tournament with a knee complaint last week, but remained confident in her body going into the tournament.

"Everything is really well, I'm feeling really good. I've been training every day for so long, so (my knee) is good. I'm ready," Williams said on Friday.

Despite her positive outlook, the top half of the draw is fraught with danger, with other big names Agnieszka Radwanska (4), Petra Kvitova (6) and Roberta Vinci all potential match-ups en-route to the final.

Meanwhile second seed Simona Halep appears to have been gifted the easier half in the draw, with 3rd seed Garbine Muguruza unproven in Grand Slam tournaments, while Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams will be Halep's biggest threats as she chases her first Grand Slam win.

Halep, who will play an undecided qualifier in the first-round, does have an early scare however, with Alize Cornet a potential second round match-up. The Frenchwoman holds a 3-1 win/loss record over second seed Halep.

Other interesting first-round matches include veteran women Daniela Hantuchova and Svetlana Kuznetsova duking it out, while on the men's side, crowd favorite and one-time finalist in Melbourne, Marcos Baghdatis goes toe-to-toe with 9th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in what could prove to be a boil over.

Also in the women's draw, Chinese hope and wild card recipient Xinyun Han has a winnable first match against Mariana Duque-Marino, but could face trouble against 16th seed Caroline Wozniacki in the second round, while world No. 85 Saisai Zheng also faces a tough ask if she can progress to the second round - a potential match-up with former champion Venus Williams awaits her if she can edge past German Carina Witthoelt.

Australian hopes Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic both have their work cut out for them; Kyrgios was drawn in a potential third-round match with 6th seed Tomas Berdych, while Tomic plays veteran Denis Istomin in the first round.

Meanwhile Australian stalwart Lleyton Hewitt, playing his 20th and final Australian Open tournament, will have to push pass a compatriot in order to keep his dream alive, after drawing fellow Australian qualifier, James Duckworth.

Nine Australian men and nine Australian women feature in the draw, with two men seeded for the first time since 2004. Samantha Stosur is the lone women's seed, facing a qualifier yet to be named.

As of Friday, Yan Bai is China's last hope of having a male qualifier make it into the main draw, while in the ladies' qualifiers, there are still seven Chinese players in the tournament.

The Australian Open begins in Melbourne on Monday, Jan. 18. Endit