So who is smiling after the Australian Open draw?

Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic will be left cursing their luck after the draw ceremony for the Australian Open.

A buzz filtered around Melbourne Park as the world’s top players were placed into the grid, hoping to gain a favourable path towards the title.

Who was smiling? Who was lucky? Definitely not Serena.

The six-time champion opens up her account against former world No.7 Belinda Bencic, the talented young Swiss on the comeback trail from injury.

History chasing Williams has split two previous meetings with Bencic, and it was the 19-year-old Swiss who claimed their last clash en route to the 2015 Canadian Masters title.

To net a seventh crown at 35-years-old , No.2 seed Williams will likely need to do it the hard way with 2015 French Open runner-up Lucie Safarova, sixth seed Dominika Cibulkova, Agnieska Radwanska or her US Open conqueror Karolina Pliskova all potentially blocking the American’s route to the trophy shootout.

World No.1 Angelique Kerber enjoys a far less daunting quarter, beginning her title defence against Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.

Over to the men’s and one match stood out amongst the rest.

Six-time champion Novak Djokovic had to wrestle back five match points facing Spanish stalwart Fernando Verdasco last week in Doha. Guess what? It’s Verdasco in round one at Melbourne Park.

His 2009 semi-final classic with Rafael Nadal will certainly be in the back of Djokovic’s mind. On top of that, Verdasco sent Nadal packing at the first hurdle at Australian Open 2016.

Ultimately Djokovic leads their head-to-head by 9-4, not losing to the world No.40 since 2010, but it’s set for an absolute firecracker.

Should Djokovic escape unscathed his first serious test would be Brisbane International winner Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round. Now that would be a blockbuster!

Draws never quite follow the paper but as we stand the last 16 will be as follows: Murray vs Pouille, Berdych vs Nishikori, Wawrinka vs Kyrgios, Tsonga vs Cilic, Monfils vs Nadal, Bautista Agut vs Raonic, Thiem vs Goffin and finally Dimitrov vs Djokovic.

So spot the missing piece? That’s right it’s 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.

He’s the unaccustomed 17th seed this year in Melbourne having endured a six month injury lay-off. Back in form at the Hopman Cup he will be relishing his draw.

Opponent one is a qualifier, opponent two is a qualifier. Welcome back Roger. The Swiss maestro would then a potential third round meeting with 10th seed Tomas Berdych. That would mean Nishikori then Murray. A quarter-final with the Scot would be one blistering re-introduction to the upper echelons of the game.

World No.1 Murray will begin his quest for an illusive Australian Open crown against Ukrainian Illya Marchenko.

A beaten finalist on five occasions, the three-time Grand Slam champion is in the same section as big-serving Americans Sam Querrey (31st seed) and John Isner (19th). Both are keen on causing an upset but Murray normally outsmarts such opponents with his variety.

A fourth round battle with Lucas Pouille and a US Open quarter-final rematch with Nishikori would truly test title credentials.

2009 champion Nadal opens with Florian Mayer with fledging German youngster Alexander Zverev a possible third round sizzler.

The Spaniard is in the same quarter as third seed Milos Raonic who always seems to be neglected in the talk of favourites. However an intriguing first round contrast with exuberant shot-maker Dustin Brown will be certain to provide the “hot shot” highlights.

How about the Aussie hosts?

Major home hope Nick Kyrgios is up against Portugal’s world No.81 Gastao Elias in the opening round.
2014 champion and world No.4 Stan Wawrinka looms as 14th-seeded Kyrgios’ first major test in the last 16. Should his knee inflammations subside, expect his booming serve to guide him at least that far.

In a tough draw, Bernard Tomic, Australia’s only other men’s seed, opens his campaign against Brazilian baseliner Thomaz Bellucci, while Australian Open wildcard playoff winner Omar Jasika has drawn never-say-die 21st seed David Ferrer.

Of the other Australians, Christopher O’Connell’s Grand Slam debut will be against in-form 15th seed Dimitrov and teenage wildcard Alex De Minaur has an inviting opener against Austria’s world No.84 Gerald Melzer.

Back to the women’s contest and here is how a paper-perfect fourth round would look: Kerber vs Vinci, Suarez Navarro vs Muguruza, Halep vs Venus, Svitolina vs Kuznetsova, Pliskova vs Bacsinszky, Vesnina vs Radwanska, Cibulkova vs Konta, Strycova vs Serena.

It’s hard to look past the favourites for each quarter of the draw but fourth seed Simona Halep’s is particularly treacherous.

Rio Olympics gold medallist Monica Puig, Venus Williams, Elina Svitolina and Svetlana Kuznetsova all pack into the fight for a seeded semi-final with Kerber.

Meanwhile Cibulkova Dominika Cibulkova, Australian Open runner-up in 2014, has a tougher path with Caroline Wozniacki, Johanna Konta and Serena Williams all sitting in wait.

The highest Aussie hopes face British counterparts. Sam Stosur will vie against Heather Watson, while 22nd seed Daria Gavrilova meets Naomi Broady.

Other home interests include Arina Rodionova tackling 17th seed Caroline Wozniacki (in Serena’s quarter) whilst Ash Barty on her comeback will be a dangerous opponent for Annika Beck.

Destanee Aiava, the teenager catching the headlines, will become the first player born this century to contest a Grand Slam. The Melbourne resident will be delighted to be pitched against a qualifier at her maiden major.

The talking is nearly over, the practice is pretty much concluded, but for sure there will be players happier this weekend as they trawl through the draw.