Australian Open 2021: Complete Draw, Schedule for Men's, Women's Brackets

The first tennis Grand Slam of 2021 will take place three weeks later than usual. 

The Australian Open begins Monday after the participants had to go through a strict quarantine process once they arrived in the country. 

Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin will both be in Melbourne to defend the respective crowns won last February inside Rod Laver Arena.

Djokovic is once again the top seed in the men's singles bracket, while Kenin is the No. 4 seed on the women's side. 

Ashleigh Barty, who is playing in her first major since last year's Australian Open, tops the women's seed list. Simona Halep and Naomi Osaka are ranked second and third, respectively.

The full men's and women's singles draw can be found on the tournament's official website. Play will begin on February 8 and conclude on February 21. 

Men's Singles

Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are set on a collision course for the final, as they were drawn on opposite ends of the bracket as the top two seeds. 

Reigning U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem is the No. 3 seed, and he was slotted into Djokovic's half of the draw. 

No. 17 Stanislas Wawrinka is the only other previous major champion in the top 32 seeds. He starts the tournament in Djokovic's quarter. 

Djokovic was drawn with Wawrinka, No. 14 Milos Raonic and No. 27 Taylor Fritz, who is the lone seeded American on the men's side, in the top of eight sections. 

Before the potential top-seeded showdowns take center stage, there are a few intriguing first-round matches, starting with an up-and-coming star facing a fringe top-10 player. 

Italian Jannik Sinner will face No. 11 Denis Shapovalov in the bottom part of Djokovic's half. Sinner advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open in October. Shapovalov did not make it out of the first round in Melbourne last year.

Shapovalov was one of four seeded players to be eliminated in the opening round last year, and there could be more uncertainty with only a week or two of on-court action preceding the competition. 

Women's Singles

Ten of the top 15 seeds in the women's singles draw have won a Grand Slam tournament. 

The most-recent Grand Slam champion, Iga Swiatek, went from unseeded at the French Open to the No. 15 seed for the first major of 2021. 

Swiatek was drawn in the same quadrant as Halep, who took home a major title in both 2018 and 2019. 

Three of the four quadrants in the bottom half of the draw have two Grand Slam champions. The only section in that region to not have multiple title winners is the one featuring Serena Williams. 

Williams is searching for her first Grand Slam crown since the 2017 Australian Open. She has seven overall titles in Melbourne. 

Kenin and Williams are two of four seeded American women. Jennifer Brady, who made a semifinal run at the U.S. Open, could be viewed as a dark-horse candidate to win as the No. 22 seed. If chalk holds, Brady would have to get through Kenin and Johanna Konta to reach the quarterfinals. 

But the draw going as planned is unlikely since 11 seeded women were knocked out in the first two rounds in 2020.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from AusOpen.com.