With Andy Murray out injured and Naomi Broady failing to make it through the qualifying rounds, there will be just three British players playing in the single's competitions at the 2018 #AustralianOpen.
3 British players make the main singles draws
Kyle Edmund will be the lone Briton in the Men's singles draw and he might struggle to make it past the first round. He has been drawn against South African giant Kevin Anderson in a match set to take place on Monday morning.
Despite his good form in Brisbane where he eventually lost to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the Quarter-Finals, his draw in the opening Grand Slam of 2018 has certainly not been kind.
If the Brit was to make it through his first round encounter, he would likely face veteran Denis Istomin in the second round.
Konta, Watson facing challenging fortnights
Great Britain's best hope Johanna Konta has also been dealt a reasonable yet difficult draw as she tries to win her first grand slam title in Australia. Her first match will be against young American Madison Brengle who has had the best of #Konta in three of their last four meetings.
A potential fourth-round encounter could see her face Karolina Pliskova, while a likely quarter-final matchup between Konta and top seed Simona Halep awaits.
After retiring in Brisbane before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska in Sydney, the preparation for the first grand slam of the year has not been ideal for Konta.
In her last two appearances in Melbourne, the world number five has made the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, but this year's challenge seems very difficult for the region's best hope.
After impressing in Tasmania, Heather Watson will play Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva in her first round match, a lady ranked number 50 on the WTA tour.
Watson's recent form has certainly been encouraging for supporters of women's tennis in Britain. After qualifying for the Hobart International, England's number two made it through to the semi-finals, losing to eventual champion Elise Mertens.
The favourites for the #GrandSlam
Defending champion Roger Federer seems to be the clear favourite in the men's draw after a brilliant 2017 and solid start to 2018.
Playing at the Hopman Cup in Perth to start his season, Federer did not lose a match and looked extremely impressive against young German Alexander Zverev. He will play Slovenian Aljaz Bedene in the opening round, but his side of the draw is not necessarily favourable given the talent and the interesting seedings in the men's draw. With Djokovic, Wawrinka, Thiem, Zverev, Goffin and Del Potro all on Roger's side of the draw, he will have to produce near to his best tennis to ensure he plays off in another grand slam final.
On the other hand, Rafael Nadal has had a difficult start to the 2018 season but has been handed a relatively easy draw to start his Australian Open campaign. The world number one will play Victor Estrella Burgos in the opening round, with likely encounters against Dimitrov, Carreno-Busta, Cilic or Kyrgios to occur in the later rounds.
With Serena Williams out injured, the women's draw is wide open coming into the Australian Open for 2018. Venus Williams will be a chance, but her opening round encounter will be extremely difficult against Swiss sensation Belinda Bencic. Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki remain favourites for the tournament as the first and second seeds respectively, as they attempt to win the first grand slams of their respective careers. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is back at the Australian Open after missing the 2017 AO while reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza will look to put her injury woes behind her as she takes on Jessika Ponchet from France in her first round match.
Predictions for #AustralianOpen
Love him or hate him, expect Nick Kyrgios to turn it on at Melbourne Park. After a reasonable yet eventful 2017, the hometown hero has started the new year in fine fashion. His title in Brisbane showed his exceptional form as he ousted Grigor Dimitrov in three sets in the semi-final, before taking care of American Ryan Harrison convincingly at the Pat Rafter Arena. A talented junior with an unpredictable temper, if Kyrgios can control his emotions, he may go very deep into the tournament.
He has been out for so long and now the champion is back, but just how far will Novak Djokovic go at the 2018 Australian Open? After struggling throughout 2017 with injury, the six-time Australian Open champion has played his best tennis on Rod Laver Arena and the early signs show he is in good form ahead of his return to the ATP Tour.
In a practice match at Kooyong, Djokovic demolished Austrian Dominic Thiem and with time and match practice his form should only get better and better. Seeded at the unusual spot of number 14, Djokovic will be a very dangerous player who could just produce one of the great tennis comebacks if he was to win a seventh crown in Melbourne.
Without a doubt the most threatening unseeded player in the men's or women's draw, Maria Sharapova remains an enigma ahead of the first grand slam of the year. Her return to the US Open last year saw her make the fourth round, defeating Simona Halep in the process. This year the Russian athlete has made the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open and will hope to go far in this year's Australian Open.
A difficult prospect for some seeds to deal with...one thing is for sure. You wouldn't want to be playing her late in the #Tennis tournament.
Champions
Men's Singles: Rafael Nadal
Women's Singles: Caroline Wozniacki
