Australian Open 2013 Draw Results: Breaking Down Seedings and Brackets

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With the 2013 Australian Open just four days away, it is imperative that we analyze the men's draw, which was released Thursday.

Though the qualifying rounds have not fully been completed, it is safe to say that just under half of them will secure first round victories.

The brackets are very interesting and are, as anticipated, excruciatingly tough. Each year the matches "down under" prove to be physically demanding and competitive and this year is no different.

Here are the results of the draw in detail.

1. Novak Djokovic

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The No. 1 seed may have significant problems early on.

His earliest opponents will, or could, include Ryan Harrison, Feliciano Lopez, Viktor Troicki, Radek Stepanek, Sam Querrey and Stanislas Wawrinka.

Most of these athletes have challenged Novak in the past two years, which were his best seasons to date. Though many of the challenges were overcome by the Serb, it could be important judging by the fact that these are the opening rounds.

Potential Upset: Sam Querrey, should he reach the fourth round.

5. Tomas Berdych

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Berdych has several talents that could prove trouble, but he should have no trouble getting through to a quarterfinal showdown with the No. 1 player.

Juan Monaco, Kevin Anderson and Fernando Verdasco would be the only players to threaten him, and even then, only one of those players has a decent shot.

We will see how the Czech fares in one of his most consistent tournaments.

4. David Ferrer

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The scrappy Spaniard has done well down under the past few years.

Does he have what it takes to do it again? Let's have a look.

His first three rounds look straight-forward, with the only challenger being Marcos Baghdatis (or John Millman if he keeps up his inspired run of tennis).

He may later face the likes of Mikhail Youzhny or Kei Nishikori, who may pull off an upset, though it seems unlikely.

Nobody besides Nishikori truly stands a chance, but the quarterfinal possibilities are intriguing. Take a look at the next slide to see who may knock the Spaniard out of the tournament.

8. Janko Tipsarevic

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The No. 2-ranked Serb has an incredibly tough bracket, even for a player of his stature.

In the first round, he will face Lleyton Hewitt, who may end his hopes then and there with a home-crowd advantage.

Should he win the contest he could meet Gilles Muller, Grigor Dimitrov, Julien Benneteau, Jerzy Janowicz or Nicolas Almagro.

All of these players have proven themselves before against higher-ranked opponents, though the true tests would be Dimitrov, Janowicz and Almagro.

Upset Alert: Nicolas Almagro in the fourth round

6. Juan Martin Del Potro

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As we move on to the lower half of the draw we will encounter the man with the easiest bracket of the all the Top-8 players.

Marcel Granollers is barely a dent in del Potro's schedule of play, and the Argentine will be safe until the fourth round, where his one tough opponent, Marin Cilic, has endured a very unsteady past few years since he reached the semis in Melbourne in 2010.

Del Potro fans should not worry until the second week. He also has a serious shot at this title.

3. Andy Murray

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The Scot's best Major is going to be treating him very nicely once more.

Though his bracket is relatively easy for him, he does have the hardest first round opponent—Robin Haase.

Remember, Haase went up two-sets-to-love against Murray at the hard courts of Flushing Meadows and isn't afraid to go for huge shots against the world's best.

Florian Mayer in the third round could pull a few tricks out of his bag but he will likely fail to find enough of them.

Alexandr Dolgopolov and Gilles Simon could be fourth round opponents, and it's also hard to imagine them taking out the dominant man on the other side of the net.

Upset Alert: Robin Haase in four sets (another crazy prediction of mine)

7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

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Tsonga will have a very grueling first week at this event. Not only has he experienced recent health issues but he also has back-to-back-to-back very hungry opponents.

His opener is against countryman, Michael Llodra, who has enough improvisational talent to secure a win.

Tsonga's potential future opponents in the draw include Thomaz Bellucci, Tommy Haas and Richard Gasquet.

Something tells me somebody else will be facing Roger Federer in the Aussie Open quarterfinals.

2. Roger Federer

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The Swiss Maestro is looking to do better than his semifinals run last year, where he played one of the best matches of his career and still lost to Rafael Nadal in four.

He will likely play Nikolay Davydenko in the second round (these two had a very tight encounter during the 2010 event, which Federer was able to squeeze out). The Russian has been on a wave of resurgence lately and is slowly reclaiming his old title as "The Machine".

Martin Klizan and Bernard Tomic are potential third round opponents—it would be nice to see how the lefty treats Roger's backhand and how the Australian performs in a rematch from last year's straight-set beat-down.

The fourth round may see Philipp Kohlschreiber, Lukas Rosol or Milos Raonic through.

I can't help but think Federer will handle these challenges well, though we will see in a few days.

Upset Alert: Milos Raonic

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