Australia, 10 January 2021 | Leigh Rogers

The Australian Open 2021 qualifying draws are set.

Twelve Aussie men will contest the men’s singles qualifying draw, which includes an all-Australian showdown between former top-100 players Jason Kubler and Matthew Ebden in the opening round.

Bernard Tomic, the top-ranked Australian man in the draw, faces No.14 seed Jozef Kovalik in his first round. Tomic won their only previous meeting, in a Davis Cup tie in 2016.

Max Purcell, a 22-year-old from Sydney who qualified for last year’s Australian Open, has been handed a difficult draw. He faces Frenchman Hugo Gaston – a 20-year-old who defeated former champion Stan Wawrinka at Roland Garros last year, then pushed world No.3 Dominic Thiem to five sets in the fourth round.

* = Protected ranking

The Australian Open 2021 men’s singles qualifying event runs from 10-13 January at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar.

> READ: Aussie men ready for AO 2021 qualifying

Tasmania’s Harry Bourchier arrived in Doha today after scoring a last-minute wildcard. The world No.323 had been waiting at Melbourne Airport hoping to find out he had secured the final wildcard, which became free when Blake Mott gained direct acceptance. A relieved Bourchier got the call to say the wildcard was his an hour before the last available flight to Qatar. He faces world No.155 Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in the opening round.

> VIEW: Full Australian Open 2021 men’s singles qualifying draw

The women’s singles qualifying event runs from 10-13 January at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium and Complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Holding the Australian Open qualifying events offshore, a first for the tournament, is an innovative solution to government restrictions on the number of players allowed to enter Australia this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian women were handed challenging draws, with five to face seeded opponents in the opening round.

This includes Storm Sanders who faces top-seeded Slovenian Kaja Juvan, who she lost to in the second round of last year’s Australian Open qualifying tournament.

> READ: Aussie women set for AO 2021 qualifying

Abbie Myers will play former world No.5 Eugenie Bouchard in the first round, while Ivana Popovic has been pitted against former world No.23 Lesia Tsurenko.

> VIEW: Full Australian Open 2021 women’s singles qualifying draw

To follow all the qualifying action live, visit the official Australian Open website.

Australian Open 2021 tickets are now on sale via ticketmaster.com.au.