Australian Open 2017: Day 1 Schedule, Matchups Predictions for Melbourne Bracket

Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams will all be in action on the first day of the 2017 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, which is set to start on Monday.

Murray will face Illya Marchenko in the final match of the early session played in the Rod Laver Arena on Monday, following the conclusion of Williams' clash with Kateryna Kozlova. Kerber will face Lesia Tsurenko after the Scot's match, and Federer will close out the day against Jurgen Melzer.

Here's a look at the full schedule for the main courts in Melbourne. For a full schedule of all matches played on Monday, visit the event's official website:

Rod Laver Arena (in order)	Margaret Court Arena (in order)
Simona Halep vs. Shelby Rogers	Marina Erakovic vs. Garbine Muguruza
Kateryna Kozlova vs. Venus Williams	Bernard Tomic vs. Thomaz Bellucci
Andy Murray vs. Illya Marchenko	Coco Vandeweghe vs. Roberta Vinci
Angelique Kerber vs. Lesia Tsurenko	Stan Wawrinka vs. Martin Klizan
Roger Federer vs. Jurgen Melzer	Louisa Chirico vs. Eugenie Bouchard

Here are some predictions for the opening day of the 2017 Australian Open.

Top Seed No Problem for Murray

Murray has been among the top players in the sport for years and emerged as arguably the best men's player in the world in 2016. Yet as reported by Tennis.com's Steve Tignor, he will start a Grand Slam as the top-seeded player for the first time in his career on Monday.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic has seemingly been the favourite for just about every tournament he has entered in the last three years, meaning Murray has always played out of something of an underdog role. Entering 2017, that is no longer the case.

Some players, like Federer, are confident with such a role, as the Swiss veteran made clear ahead of the tournament, per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times:

For years, the mental side of the game was Murray's biggest issue, but the meltdowns that often characterised the early parts of his career all but vanished in 2016. The Scotsman kept his emotions under control throughout the season, showing the type of intelligence great champions need to have.

In line with that evolution, he should have no problem starting the Australian Open as the favourite for the title. He has faced Marchenko only once in his career, beating the Ukrainian at this tournament in 2011, and his path to the quarter-finals seems fairly easy.

If the World No. 1 makes it that far―and he's expected to―he'll likely face Federer or Kei Nishikori before a possible date with Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals. On the other side of the draw, Djokovic has been given a much tougher road to the final, with Fernando Verdasco awaiting in the opening round. Expect Murray to have it far easier than the Serb in his first-round matchup.

Some Rust for Federer

While Murray is the world's top-ranked player, he likely won't be soaking up the headlines on Monday. That honour goes to Federer, who makes his return to a Grand Slam court after a lengthy injury layoff.

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

The Swiss star will kick off his Australian Open campaign against Austria's Melzer, a qualifier who gave Murray all he could handle in Doha and fell flat in Chennai against Hyeon Chung. In many ways, those results sum up the 35-year-old, who tends to reserve his best tennis for the toughest opponents.

Melzer is usually a tricky opponent for the top players, but the real wild card in this match is Federer, who won all of his Hopman Cup matches for Switzerland but looked rusty in the process. There's hardly any pressure on the veteran, evidenced by how he has prepared for his first major singles tournament in months, per the event's official Twitter account:

It's worth noting that Federer's road to the quarter-finals is relatively easy on paper, with qualifiers awaiting in his first two prospective matches, and he has beaten Murray in five straight contests. If Federer does make it to the quarter-finals, that statistic will be in the back of the Scotsman's head.

Melzer is a smart, experienced veteran who will likely get Federer to move early and will try to prolong rallies to test his opponent's fitness. Expect him to put serious pressure on the 17-time Grand Slam winner at times, although it won't be enough to come away with an upset.