Federer to begin against Seppi

Roger Federer will begin his bid to equal Pete Sampras's record of 14 grand slam titles against Italian Andreas Seppi in the first round of the Australian Open next week.

Top seed Rafael Nadal, who snapped Federer's record 237-week stint as world number one last August, will meet Belgium's Christophe Rochus after the draw was made at Melbourne Park yesterday.

Champion Novak Djokovic was drawn to meet a qualifier in his opening match but if the seeds live up to their billing, he could be on another collision course with Federer in the semi-finals.

Fourth seed Andy Murray, tipped to end Britain's 73-year wait for a men's grand slam champion, was slotted into the same half of the draw as Nadal and will open his account against Romania's Andrei Pavel.

Federer will need to be on his guard if he is to win a fourth trophy in Melbourne since his path is littered with banana skins, including a potential second round match with Carlos Moya.

If he survives that test, Marat Safin could be his next opponent. The Russian beat the Swiss en route to the 2005 title.

Women's world number one Jelena Jankovic will open her campaign against Austria's Yvonne Meusburger. Serena Williams, the second seed at Melbourne Park, will play Yuan Meng, of China.

The American, targeting a fourth title in the season's opening major, faces a tricky passage through the draw as she could run into 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round before setting up a possible semi-final with sister Venus.