Australian Open 2017: Complete Predictions for Men's and Women's Draw

Sir Andy Murray hopes to add to his cabinet of tennis Grand Slams at the 2017 Australian Open and will open his campaign for a first crown in Melbourne against Illya Marchenko on Monday.

The Scot has been seeded No. 1 in a major for the first time in his career, but No. 2 Novak Djokovic is personally looking to prevent his only rankings superior from clinching the top prize for a fifth time.

Meanwhile, women's champion Angelique Kerber comes back to Melbourne, the scene of her first Grand Slam triumph, as first seed, just one place ahead of six-time winner and 2016 runner-up Serena Williams.

Here's a look at the first-round draw and predictions for the top-16 seeded players in Melbourne, complete with previews for the tournament's top seeds and potential routes through the tournament.

Men's Draw
Women's Draw
Matchup	Predicted Winner
No. 1 Andy Murray vs. Illya Marchenko	Murray
No. 2 Novak Djokovic vs. Fernando Verdasco	Djokovic
No. 3 Milos Raonic vs. Dustin Brown	Raonic
No. 4 Stan Wawrinka vs. Martin Klizan	Wawrinka
No. 5 Kei Nishikori vs. Andrey Kuznetsov	Nishikori
No. 6 Gael Monfils vs. Jiri Vesely	Monfils
No. 7 Marin Cilic vs. Jerzy Janowicz	Cilic
No. 8 Dominic Thiem vs. Jan-Lennard Struff	Thiem
No. 9 Rafael Nadal vs. Florian Mayer	Nadal
No. 10 Tomas Berdych vs. Qualifier/Lucky Loser	N/A
No. 11 David Goffin vs. Qualifier/Lucky Loser	N/A
No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Thiago Monteiro	Tsonga
No. 13 Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Guido Pella	Bautista Agut
No. 14 Nick Kyrgios vs. Gastao Elias	Kyrgios
No. 15 Grigor Dimitrov vs. Christopher O'Connell	Dimitrov
No. 16 Lucas Pouille vs. Qualifier/Lucky Loser	N/A
Matchup	Predicted Winner
No. 1 Angelique Kerber vs. Lesia Tsurenko	Kerber
No. 2 Serena Williams vs. Belinda Bencic	Williams
No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Tsvetana Pironkova	Radwanska
No. 4 Simona Halep vs. Shelby Rogers	Halep
No. 5 Karolina Pliskova vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo	Pliskova
No. 6 Dominika Cibulkova vs. Denisa Allertova	Cibulkova
No. 7 Garbine Muguruza vs. Marina Erakovic	Muguruza
No. 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Mariana Duque Marino	Kuznetsova
No. 9 Johanna Konta vs. Kirsten Flipkens	Konta
No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro vs. Jana Cepelova	Suarez Navarro
No. 11 Elina Svitolina vs. Galina Voskoboeva	Svitolina
No. 12 Timea Bacsinszky vs. Camila Giorgi	Bacsinszky
No. 13 Venus Williams vs. Kateryna Kozlova	Williams
No. 14 Elena Vesnina vs. Qualifier/Lucky Loser	N/A
No. 15 Roberta Vinci vs. Coco Vandeweghe	Vinci
No. 16 Barbora Strycova vs. Qualifier/Lucky Loser	N/A

Brackets for the men's draw and women's draw come courtesy of AusOpen.com

Murray and Djokovic into the Breach

Murray has travelled to the Australian Open final on 11 occasions in his career and reached the final five times, finishing runner-up in each of them thus far, with Djokovic stopping him at the final hurdle in four of those visits.

The last two of those happened to fall in each of the last two tournaments, too, meaning Djokovic has his chance to complete a hat-trick of disappointments in 2017. However, Murray must first defeat Marchenko in the first round, per BBC Scotland's Kheredine Idessane:

Among the most dangerous potential opponents in Murray's section of the draw are French youngster Lucas Pouille, as well as American duo John Isner and Sam Querrey.

The scariest obstacles won't appear until the quarter-finals, however, where the newly dubbed knight could face Tomas Berdych, fifth-seed Kei Nishikori or No. 17-seed Roger Federer. That trio all line up in Section 2 of the bracket, while the Times' Stuart Fraser pointed out a certain other Swiss star could lie in wait at the semi-final stage:

On recent form, Djokovic looks the only powerhouse who can stop a determined Murray, particularly in light of the Serb's 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory over the Briton in the Qatar Open final earlier this month.

That's at least assuming Djokovic can make his way to a sixth final in seven years, and the official Australian Open Twitter account mapped out his route to the final, complete with a tough start against Fernando Verdasco:

Murray isn't the type to take results for granted, but he at least looks likely to stomp his way into the final stages of the contest, although this will be his first real test to see if the success of 2016 can be sustained in 2017.

Kerber Returns to the Rod Laver Arena

PAUL CROCK/Getty Images

Melbourne undoubtedly holds a special place in the heart of Australian Open champion Kerber, who tasted Grand Slam glory for the first time last year after toppling Williams at the Rod Laver Arena.

Now the German returns to the southern hemisphere hoping to prove she's just as good at defending titles, and she told the media on Thursday she's got what it takes to clinch back-to-back triumphs at this year's competition:

"

I know how to win Grand Slams and I've got a lot of experience from the last months.

I have to go back again to this feeling. Going out there and playing match by match, enjoying the feeling and being where I am right now.

I’m really happy to be back here in Melbourne where everything started for me last year. Of course it’s a little bit different. The pressure is a little bit higher. Still, I’m trying to enjoy this.

"

In a strange twist of fate, like men's top seed Murray, female counterpart Kerber will also line up against Ukrainian opposition in the first round of her campaign after drawing Lesia Tsurenko.

From there, it's far from the most dangerous of paths to the quarter-finals, although potential fourth-round-foe and No. 15-seed Roberta Vinci could pose a stiff contest before the tournament's heavy hitters come into view:

As for her biggest threat, it's safe to say Williams, the most successful Australian Open participant in the Open era, takes on that role again this year after pushing Kerber to the wire this time last year.

Williams will be aware of Dominika Cibulkova, ninth-seed Johanna Konta, No. 5-seed Karolina Pliskova and superstar Pole Agnieszka Radwanska—all of whom are in her half of the draw. However, WTA Insider was surprised to see such a dangerous first-round opponent in the American's way:

Swiss starlet Belinda Bencic, a compatriot of Federer's who has gained great notoriety at the elite level of late, could have a shock in her locker if her opponent is complacent, although Williams has never been beaten in the first round of the Australian Open.

A successful title defence may be too much for Kerber this time around, however, after recently losing to Elina Svitolina and Daria Kasatkina in Brisbane and Sydney, respectively, per Matchstat.com, showing her form may be lacking in Australia.