Australian Open 2019: Andy Murray vs Roberto Bautista Agut and the best matches from the first round

The Brit is unseeded and faces a tough draw in Melbourne, whilst world No 1 Simona Halep faces a tricky opener vs Kaia Kanepi

Andy Murray practices at Melbourne Park ahead of the tournament (Getty Images)

The first Grand Slam of the year is upon us with the Australian Open getting underway at Melbourne Park on Monday with a host of intriguing matches to kick things off.

The British contingent face a number of tough match-ups with Dan Evans preparing for his final match in qualification vs Paolo Lorenzi to make the main draw.

Andy Murray has been given a tough draw after entering the tournament unseeded, whilst Kyle Edmund, the No 13 seed, was also unfortunate, and meets former Grand Slam finalist Tomas Berdych in the first round.

Home favourites Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic will also be up against it to emerge victorious from the opening round.

Here, Press Association Sport picks out eight of the best.

Roberto Bautista Agut v Andy Murray

As an unseeded player, Murray was left to the luck of the draw and his luck was out. Spaniard Bautista Agut, seeded 22nd, won the title in Doha last week, beating Novak Djokovic along the way, and his relentless baseline game will give Murray's dodgy right hip a thorough workout.

Kyle Edmund v Tomas Berdych

As the 13th seed, Edmund would have hoped for a kind draw, but he was also unfortunate. Last year's semi-finalist will face former slam finalist Berdych, whose ranking has dropped to 57 after back problems saw him miss the second half of last season.

Nick Kyrgios v Milos Raonic

Kyrgios' poor results have caused the Australian's ranking to plummet outside the top 50, making him one of the key unseeded floaters in the draw. His name landed next to 16th seed Raonic, a former semi-finalist in Melbourne.

Marin Cilic v Bernard Tomic

The other Australian 'bad boy' also has a high-profile first-round match against last year's runner-up Cilic. Tomic failed to qualify 12 months ago but has climbed back into the top 100.

Simona Halep v Kaia Kanepi

Halep goes into the tournament as world number one and last year's beaten finalist but the Romanian is also on a five-match losing streak, including a first-round loss to big-hitting Estonian Kanepi at the US Open.

Kyrgios and Tomic laugh during an exhibition match in preparation for Melbourne Park (EPA)

Alison Van Uytvanck v Caroline Wozniacki

Wozniacki defeated Halep to win a long-awaited first slam title here 12 months ago but the rest of 2018 was a struggle and in October she revealed a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Belgian Van Uytvanck is not at her best on hard courts but has proved capable of big wins.

Destanee Aiava v Madison Keys

American Keys has reached at least the quarter-finals at four of the last five slams but should face a stern first test against exciting 18-year-old Australian wild card Aiava.

Simona Halep could be upset early in Australia (Getty)

Sloane Stephens v Taylor Townsend

Stephens' last six grand slams have yielded one title, one final, one quarter-final and three first-round exits, which rather sums up the fifth seed's unpredictability. In the first round here she takes on one of the most stylish players in the draw in fellow American Taylor Townsend.

PA