Six-time champion Novak Djokovic will lurk as 14th seed for next week’s Australian Open in Melbourne, with Rafael Nadal seeded top, organisers said on Thursday.
Nadal heads defending champion Roger Federer at the top of the men’s seedings.
The seedings have gone largely according to the ATP world rankings, although Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori are out injured.
Djokovic made a winning return on Wednesday after six months out with an elbow injury, declaring he felt “great” after beating world number five Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-4 at the Kooyong Classic.
It was the 12-time Grand Slam winner’s first competitive outing since losing a Wimbledon quarter-final to Tomas Berdych last July.
The Serbian former world number one had pulled out of a warm-up tournament in Abu Dhabi, raising concerns over his fitness ahead of the year’s opening Grand Slam.
Federer, seeded second, and will bid for his 20th Grand Slam title in the bottom half of the draw.
Former winner Stan Wawrinka, who hasn’t played since Wimbledon but said he has recovered sufficiently from a knee injury, is seeded at nine.
