Henman needs to be quick on the draw

Tim Henman will have to do it the hard way if he wants to clinch the Australian Open title after being handed a potential third-round meeting with either fellow countryman Greg Rusedski or local hero Mark Philippoussis in Melbourne next week.

The British No 1 beat them both in the Australian Hardcourt Championship last week, with victory over Rusedski en route to the final, where he beat Philippoussis, earning him a sixth seeding at the first Grand Slam of the year.

However, today's draw in Melbourne has not been kind to Henman, who has also been joined in the bottom quarter by No 2 seed Gustavo Kuerten.

Henman, who has never got past the fourth round in Melbourne, opens his bid for a first Grand Slam against Australian Todd Larkham, who has yet to win a singles match at the Open. Rusedski begins against another Australian, Scott Draper, who is coming back after a break from the sport. Martin Lee, Britain's other automatic entry, starts his campaign against Spaniard Francisco Clavet.

The toughest quarter is in the top half where No3 seed Andre Agassi is included along with No 8 seed Pete Sampras and ninth seed Marit Safin of Russia.

Third-seeded Martina Hingis, without a Slam title since her victory here in 1999, has been drawn to play Serena Williams in the last eight, Venus Williams in the semi-finals and defending champion Jennifer Capriati in the final - exactly the same scenario as last year.