Nadal is ranked second in the world, but he won the first racket of the tournament, because the leader of the ATP ranking, another Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz, will not participate in the competition due to an injury.
Norwegian Kasper Rud is seeded second, Greek Stefan Tsitsips third, and nine-time champion Novak Djokovic from Serbia seeded fourth.
Meanwhile, in the women’s competition, WTA leader Šviontek is seeded first, Onsa Jabert from Tunisia is seeded second, and Jessica Pegula from the USA is seeded third.
Latvia’s number one racket, Aļona Ostapenko, is seeded number 17 in singles.
Estonian Anete Kontaveita was eliminated in the tournament with number 16, and her compatriot Kaja Kanepi with number 31.
The first “Grand Slam” tournament of the 2023 season will take place in Melbourne on the hard surface from January 16 to 29.
