Tough road ahead for Rafa at Australian Open

Rafael Nadal will begin his quest for a Rafa Slam with a first-round match against Marcos Daniel of Brazil at the Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal will begin his quest for a Rafa Slam with a first-round match against Marcos Daniel of Brazil at the Australian Open. The tournament draw held Friday put Nadal in the top half along with Andy Murray and Robin Soderling,providing tough potential opponents en route to a possible final against No. 2 seed Roger Federer. Third-seeded Novak Djokovic and Federer are both in the bottom half of the draw.

Nadal is bidding to become the first man in 42 years to win four straight Grand Slam tournaments. He won 2010 titles at the French Open,Wimbledon and US Open.

Unseeded Lleyton Hewitt will take on David Nalbandian in the first round. Defending champion Federer will take on Lukas Lacko,third-seeded Novak Djokovic will meet Marcel Granollers and Murray,who lost to Federer in last years final,plays Karol Beck. American Andy Roddick,trying to win his first Slam since the 2003 US Open,will play Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic in his opener.

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On the womens side,top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki will face Gisela Dulko of Argentina in the first round,while 2010 finalist Justine Henin has drawn a qualifier. Venus Williams was placed in the top half with Wozniacki and will play Sarah Errani of Italy in the first round.

Serena Williams,the defending champion,will not play due to her recovery from a foot injury. US Open champion Kim Clijsters,the No. 3 seed,will play Dinara Safina of Russia. Maria Sharapova,the 2008 champion,plays Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand.

Somdev vs Robredo

Somdev Devvarman is pitted against Tommy Robredo in the first round of the mens singles event. Sania Mirza,meanwhile,has cleared the first round of qualifiers and will face Russias Vitalia Diatchenko next.

Investigators, including a bomb squad, combed the site. (Representational)

‘Targeted attack’: Man rams car into FBI’s Pittsburgh building gate

World1 hr ago

In a targeted attack, a man rammed his car into the FBI's Pittsburgh field office on Wednesday and then threw an American flag over the damaged gate before fleeing the scene. No FBI personnel were injured, and the suspect had previously visited the office with a nonsensical complaint. The FBI is asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect.

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