Former world number 1 player Rafael Nadal will play his come-back match against a qualifier in the first round at the Brisbane International.
Nadal could face eighth seed Aslan Karatsev or Australian wild card Jason Kubler in the second round and Ugo Humbert in the fourth round. The Spaniard played just four matches in 2023 and was forced to miss the rest of the season due to a psoas muscle injury. The Spaniard beat Alexandr Dolgopolov and Misha Zverev to reach the quarter finals in his only previous appearance at the Brisbane International in 2019 before losing to Milos Raonic. Nadal won two Australian Open titles in 2009 and 2022.
Former world number 1 Andy Murray will play against 2017 ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov in a blockbuster first round match. Murray leads 8-4 in his previous 12 head-to-head matches against Dimitrov, who beat his British opponent 6-3 6-4 6-1 in their most recent clash at the 2023 US Open.
Top seed Holger Rune will make his seasonal debut against Australia’s Max Purcell. Rune won the Munich title and reached two Masters 1000 finals in Monte-carlo and Rome this year.
This year’s Australian Open quarter finalist Ben Shelton will open his campaign against 2023 Wimbledon quarter finalist Roman Safiulin. Shelton reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, where he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. The US player won his first ATP title in Tokyo and reached quarter finals at the Shanghai Masters 1000 tournament.
Fifth seed Sebastian Korda will play against Yannick Hanfmann in the opening round. Korda lost to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Adelaide 1 International after squandering a championships point. The US player beat Hubert Hurkacz to reach the quarter finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
