Victoria Azarenka holds a 5-4 record over Li Na and has won their last four matches, however, the Chinese is 2-0 up in Grand Slam encounters.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic will kick off the defence of his Australian Open title with a first round tie against unseeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu after the draw was made for the first Grand Slam of the season on Friday.
Twelve months on and things have not got any easier for Tennis Australia with Omicron spreading through the country just as the first players are set to arrive for warm-up events ahead of the Melbourne Park tournament.
Djokovic will be nowhere near the centre court after losing his bid to overturn a second visa cancellation.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis were nicknamed the 'Special Ks' as juniors
Organisers hope the anxious buildup will be forgotten when the action begins.
Images from all the action on Day 9 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Tuesday
Rafael Nadal is taking no pleasure from the absence of great rival Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, even if it means he has a clearer shot at the Grand Slam title record.
Novak Djokovic will bid to extend his Australian Open reign to a third straight year on Sunday in the final against Andy Murray, who will aim to end Britain's 79-year wait for a men's champion at Melbourne Park.
Emma Raducanu says she is not worried about her poor form and will play without pressure at the Australian Open.
Penpix of the top men's contenders at the 2021 Australian Open
Images from Day 8 of the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday.
Victoria Azarenka's quest for her third successive Australian Open title took a little while to get going before she finally overcame a feisty Johanna Larsson 7-6, 6-2 in their first round match at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Daniil Medvedev was philosophical about his loss to Jannik Sinner in Sunday's Australian Open final, rationalising that at least he had made it to the title-decider and not crashed out in an earlier round.
The Belarusian became the first woman since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013 to retain the title
Nadal believes he had no reason to feel alarmed ahead of the season's first Grand Slam starting in two weeks.
Two Indian-origin brothers wanted in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old MTech student from India have been arrested by Australian police, media reports said.
Henri Kontinen and John Peers stunned the Bryan twins 7-5, 7-5 to win the Australian Open men's double title at MelbournePark on Saturday.
World number one Rafael Nadal, who is struggling to get any match practice before the Australian Open, will play an exhibition event at Melbourne Park in the week leading up to the season opening Grand Slam, organisers said on Monday.
Nick Kyrgios said he pulled out of the Sydney Tennis Classic after testing positive for COVID-19
Virat Kohli booed by home fans after bumping shoulders with Konstas on the pitch after the 19-year-old smashed India's bowlers around the park early on.
Images from Day 2 of the 2022 Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.
This year's Australian Open will be allowed to admit up to 30,000 fans a day, around 50% of usual capacity, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Djokovic's official website also confirmed his participation in the Dubai tournament.
Murray has struggled to regain form since undergoing hip surgery last January, and was quickly dismantled by the six-time Australian Open champion at Margaret Court Arena before the players called time on their match after less than an hour.
Bopanna was forced into searching for a new partner after Joao Sousa was unable to travel to Australia on time after testing COVID-19 positive.
Daniil Medvedev fired Russia into the final of the ATP Cup on Saturday with a tense 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over an injury-hampered Alexander Zverev after the German destroyed a racket in frustration over a lost service break.
'She's always smiling. I mean, we try in our team to smile everywhere. We make so many funny stuff around the court. She likes it'
Novak Djokovic crashed to his first defeat of the season with a stunning 6-4, 6-4 loss to Alex de Minaur.
Even putting on socks and shoes caused him severe pain, the three time Grand Slam winner revealed.
Kim Clijsters won her second straight Grand Slam title and the fourth of her career beating China's Li Na to clinch the Australian Open crown on Saturday.
Djokovic's coach Goran Ivanisevic said after the final that the world number one battled the injury
'We're absolutely confident the Australian Open will go ahead'
Russia's fourth seed Daniil Medvedev crushed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to set up a title clash with Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday.
The 33-year-old, a record eight-time winner on the Melbourne Park Arena, slipped during the third set of Friday's third-round match against Taylor Fritz and disappeared off Rod Laver Arena for treatment.
Trailblazing India tennis star Sania Mirza's swansong appearance at the Australian Open ended with a quarter-final loss to local pair Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler in the mixed doubles in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Roger Federer will make his return to the tennis circuit from a double knee surgery at an ATP 250 tournament in Qatar in March, having not played since last year's Australian Open.
Players complained about the conditions, with France's Alize Cornet stating extreme the heat policy could be endangering the safety of players, this, after she suffered dizzy spells during her third round match against Elise Mertens on Friday.
'When we go to Australia, they play India only at five Test centres. They don't play us in Canberra. They don't play us at any of the other venues where they won't be very familiar with the conditions. So do England'
