British duo given tough openers in Melbourne

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The draw, which took place this morning, has certainly thrown up a daunting task for world No53 Keothavong, whose battle this month to the semi-finals of the Auckland has suggested she can build on her strong end to last season and become a regular member of the top 50 club.

Chakvetadze is one of the rising stars of the women's game and while the 21-year-old has rarely threatened in the slams, though she did make the semi-finals of the US Open in 2007, she has been high as No5 in the world rankings.

Melanie South had benefited from the withdrawal of defending champion Maria Sharapova, who is recovering from a shoulder operation, by being given direct entry into the draw but has ended up with an equally tough assignment as compatriot Keothavong.

She has been drawn to face the 2007 Wimbledon finalist and world No19 Marion Bartoli.

The French 24-year-old is a power player who plays two handed on both sides but she has been hampered by injury and weight problems in recent years.

He poor record in Melbourne, where she went out in the first round last year and has never made it past the second round in seven attempts, offers South some hope of making a positive impression as she tries to follow Keothavong into the top 100.

At the higher end of the seedings, former champion Serena Williams and sister Venus could meet in the semi-finals while the top-seed Jelena Jankovic, still searching for a maiden Grand Slam victory, could face a semi-final against either the third-seeded Dinara Safina of Russia or fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

The women's tournament will struggle to match the men's for excitement until the Williams sisters possibly meet and it will take a major upset from one of the British girls to grab the headlines.

If Keothavong makes it, she could play Australian Jelana Dokic, whose first match is against unseeded Tamira Paszek of Austria, while South would take on either Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova or an as-yet unknown qualifier.