Americans set for 2021 Australian Open qualifying

Nine American men and 14 American women will start their campaigns to qualify for the first Grand Slam of 2021 this weekend at the Australian Open qualifying tournament.

This year's qualifying events, for which the draws were released on Saturday, will take place off-site from Melbourne Park due to Australia's quarantine regulations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The three rounds of the men's event will be staged in Doha, Qatar while the three rounds of the women's event will be stages in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. 

Only qualified players and players eligible for a lucky loser spot will then be able to travel to Melbourne for the main draw, slated to begin on Feb. 8.

Denis Kudla, seeded No. 4, is the American man best-positioned in the qualifying draw by ranking, checking in at world No. 114. The other eight Americans in the field are unseeded, with a trio drawn against seeded foes first up. Nineteen-year-old Brandon Nakashima, bidding to reach his second career Grand Slam main draw and first in Australia, will face No. 3 seed Aslan Karatsev of Russia in the opening round, while Maxime Cressy and Michael Mmoh will look to pull upsets against No. 16 seed Go Soeda of Japan and No. 24 seed Danilo Petrovic of Serbia, respectively. 

Also present in the men's qualifying field are Ulises Blanch, Ernesto Escobedo, Christopher Eubanks, Mitchell Krueger and Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.

Caty McNally (No. 12) and Francesca di Lorenzo (No. 27) lead the way for American women amongst the 32 seeds in Dubai, where the USA boasts 14 players — the most of any country. A pair of all-American matchups are on the cards in the first round, as di Lorenzo faces former Top 20 player Varvara Lepchenko, while former collegiate stars Robin Anderson (UCLA) and Danielle Lao (USC) will face off of the pro tour for a third time. 

Last January, McNally successfully came through qualifying in Melbourne and beat home favorite Samantha Stosur in the opening round, and will face a fellow teenager, 18-year-old Daria Snigur of Ukraine, in her first match in Dubai. In the 12th qualifying section, the 19-year-old could face fellow American Allie Kiick in the second round, should she defeat Frenchwoman Harmony Tan in the first. 

Also bidding for one of the 16 spots up for grabs in the main draw are Usue Maitane Arconada, Hailey Baptiste, Caroline Dolehide, Claire Liu, Grace Min, Asia Muhammad, Whitney Osuigwe and Sachia Vickery. 

Click here for the full Australian Open men's qualifying draw and women's qualifying draw.