2021 Australian Open: Kenin, Serena, Fritz lead U.S.

Defending Australian Open women's singles champion Sofia Kenin leads a lineup of 26 American men and women into main-draw singles play in Melbourne, with Team USA supplying more competitors than any other nation Down Under.

Kenin is among four seeded American women, with the world No. 4 joined by No. 10 seed Serena Williams, No. 22 Jennifer Brady and No. 24 Alison Riske. Madison Keys, the world No. 16 and American No. 3, did not travel to Melbourne after testing positive for COVID-19 in January.

Taylor Fritz is the lone American man with a number next to his name, seeded 27th, with American No. 1 John Isner having made the difficult decision to stay home with his wife and two young children.

Read on for USTA.com's breakdown of the American interest in the men's and women's singles draws.

Kenin's title defense

Kenin was a star on the rise one year ago, when she won her maiden Grand Slam in Melbourne as the No. 14 seed. Now, the 22-year-old returns as a bona fide member of the WTA's Top 5, with a Roland Garros final appearance added to her growing resume. Though she lost a rematch of last year's AO final, against Garbiñe Muguruza on Thursday at the Yarra Valley Classic, Kenin has reached the quarterfinals in both singles events she's suited up for in 2021, compiling a 5-2 record on the young season. 

Still, she is not denying the pressure of her title defense: “Obviously very nervous. It’s the first time I’m experiencing coming back to a Grand Slam where I want to try to defend my title," she said after a win in the tune-up event. "With the matches I’ve had, the success I had last year, it helps me. 

"I feel like it’s going to be a little bit of a rollercoaster next Monday or Tuesday, whenever I play. I feel like the fans will see a little bit more emotion.”

Kenin will start her title defense against Australia's Maddison Inglis. Further ahead in the American's quarter is compatriot Brady, a potential Round-of-16 opponent, as well as No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina and No. 12 Victoria Azarenka, who was one set away from the US Open title in September. The unseeded Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff, who could meet each other in Round 3, are also lurking dangerously, with a Gauff-Svitolina showdown potentially on the cards for Round 2.

All told, the 16 American women in the singles main draw are the most of any nation. Next is Russia with 12, followed by hosts Australia with 10. In addition to those already mentioned, full list includes: Venus Williams, Danielle Collins, Christina McHale, Madison Brengle, Jessica Pegula, Ann Li, Bernarda Pera, Shelby Rogers, Lauren Davis and qualifier Whitney Osuigwe.

Serena's quest for 24

Williams returns to Grand Slam action after pulling out of the 2020 fall edition of Roland Garros with an Achilles problem that lingered through much of the offseason. The delayed start of this year's Aussie Open benefitted the 39-year-old, as she was not able to practice during her recovery. 

“I don’t think I would have been here if it was during the regular [tournament dates]," she told the press following an early-round win at the Melbourne tune-up event. "I definitely took that time to recover and to just do the best that I can, and now it’s a lot better."

But Williams, who won three straight three-setters to reach the 2020 US Open semifinals, may have a fresh injury concern ahead of the main event. On Friday, she withdrew from the Yarra Valley Classic citing a right-shoulder problem. Serena made no reference to the issue after her quarterfinal win over Danielle Collins, so the prevailing wisdom is that her withdrawal is preventative in nature, as she sets her sight on the year's first major trophy. 

Serena opens the main event against Laura Siegemund of Germany. If the seeds hold, she would face No. 7 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the Round of 16, and No. 2 Simona Halep in the quarters.

Fritz leads the line

The highest-ranked of the 10 American men in the singles main draw, world No. 30 Fritz enters on the back of consecutive third-round finished Down Under. He has reached Round 3 of a Slam five times in his career, including in each of the three majors on the 2020 calendar. It was at that stage that he fell to eventual finalist Dominic Thiem in Melbourne one year ago, and dropped a heartbreaking five-setter against Denis Shapovalov at the US Open—a contest that stood up as one of the matches of the tournament.

It likely won't get any easier for the 23-year-old if he is to better that mark in Australia—he projects to face world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, against whom he has not won a set in two meetings, in the third round. Fritz starts off against Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain.

Frances Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka join Fritz as three Americans on the draw's first eight lines. Tiafoe could face Djokovic in Round 2, where Davis Cup teammates Fritz and Opelka could also meet.

For Tiafoe, whose run to the 2019 Aussie Open quarters remains his standout major performance, there's no better place to get back to top form. After a slow start to 2020, Tiafoe reached the fourth round of the US Open following the pandemic suspension. 

"I'm ready to have a good 2021. I really want to hit a stride this year," he told USTA.com in a recent interview from his Melbourne hotel room, citing consistency throughout the year as his key focus. "I'm in a good headspace; I ended last year pretty well, so I'm ready to do some damage this year.

"This is one of my favorite stops," he said of the Australian Open, where he had the misfortune of running into a red-hot Daniil Medvedev in Round 1 last year. "2019 was special, and I think I can definitely do something special again."

Read more on ATPTour.com: Tiafoe - 'I was in a dark place, now I'm ready for great things'

The other Americans in the draw are: two-time AO quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren, Sam Querrey, Tommy Paul, Mackenzie McDonald, Marcos Giron, and qualifiers Maxime Cressy and Michael Mmoh.

For full men's and women's singles draws, visit the official Australian Open website.