Djokovic draws Lorenzi in Aussie opener

MELBOURNE, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Novak Djokovic begins his Australian Open title defense against Paolo Lorenzi and has a draw that could include a semifinal bout with Andy Murray.

Djokovic is making is 2012 debut in Melbourne. He is coming off a season in which he won 10 tournaments, with the Australian Open among three Grand Slam titles.

He is playing Lorenzi for the second time in his career and is fully expected to improve to 2-0 against the Italian player. Down the bracket, which was released Friday, Djokovic could meet Andy Roddick in the third round and fifth-seeded David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.

If the tournament plays to form, Djokovic would face Murray in the semifinals. He was a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 winner over Murray in last year's Australian Open finals.

The highest seed Murray could face before Djokovic is No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

With Djokovic and Murray in the top half of the draw, the other half features a potential semifinal of world No. 2 Rafael Nadal and third-ranked Roger Federer. Federer has won in Melbourne four times, the latest in 2010. Nadal won the Australian Open title in 2009, beating Federer in five sets.

Before Federer, Nadal could meet either seventh-seeded Thomas Berdych or No. 10 Nicolas Almagro. The other high seed in Federer's quarter is No. 8 Mardy Fish.

The Australian Open begins Monday with the men's final Jan. 29.