When the American teenager Coco Gauff landed among the legends at Wimbledon to beat the ageing but proud former champion Venus Williams in the opening round last year, neither imagined, surely, they would resume their battle of the ages at the start of the first slam of 2020.

But here they are, 15-year-old Gauff, the youngest player in the WTA top 100, and her 39-year-old compatriot. Gauff is beginning her journey and has won one title; the latter, 55 in the world, is twice an Australian Open finalist, owner of seven slams and still defying injury, illness and the years with grace and composure.

Whoever goes through, it would be a major surprise to see her name in contention on the final weekend. However long they last, they will bring theatre and excitement. If Gauff reaches the third round she could run into the defending champion and the game’s resident eccentric, Naomi Osaka, who crushed her in the third round at the 2019 US Open.

Looking back on that experience – and trying to put it in the context of conquering Serena Williams at Flushing Meadows in 2018 – Osaka said at Thursday evening’s draw: “For me, Coco is very special, with all the things that happened to her at such a young age. All the people were coming to watch her [in New York]. Her [fame] is at a much larger scale than I was. I feel protective a little bit about her.” Osaka is 22.

She added: “A year ago, even two, I wouldn’t have dreamed to be in this position. My life is a bit crazy. I don’t talk to people I stare at them from a distance. I blank out when Serena talks to me. I’m trying really hard to get the courage [to talk to her]. It’s very odd. She’s the one I admired to start playing, and then there was the [2018] US Open thing. I just got here [to the top of the game]. This is my second year of being on the higher level.

“It feels really great to return as champion. I think I’m more prepared this time. I watched the highlights [of last year’s final against Petra Kvitova]. There’s a long video of me crying which, come on, is nothing new.‚“

Serena, who broke a long, frustrating drought to win in Auckland last weekend, is in good shape to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 majors. It is likely she will play Osaka in the quarter-finals, although Johanna Konta could make life difficult for her in the fourth round. The British No 1, nursing a knee injury, starts against Ons Jabeur and may have to get past two Carolines – Garcia and Wozniacki – to get to Williams.

At the top of that side of the draw, the world No 1, Ashleigh Barty, has a fairly uncomplicated route to the quarter-finals, where Kvitova is her probable opponent – if the world No 8 is not cut down by the toxic air polluting the city and the tournament. Kvitova is an asthmatic, one of several on the Tour.

Quick Guide Australian Open: Women's draw Show Seeds in bold, seedings in brackets Ashleigh Barty (Aus, 1) v Lesia Tsurenko (Ukr)

Polona Hercog (Svn) v Rebecca Peterson (Swe)

Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Blr) v qualifier

Bernarda Pera (US) v Elena Rybakina (Kaz, 29)

Alison Riske (US, 18) v Yafan Wang (Chn)

Viktorija Golubic (Swi) v Lin Zhu (Chn)

Julia Goerges (Ger) v Viktoria Kuzmova (Svk)

Christina McHale (US) v Petra Martic (Cro, 13)

Madison Keys (US, 10) v Daria Kasatkina (Rus)

Magda Linette (Pol) v Arantxa Rus (Neth)

Qualifier v Shuai Peng (Chn)

Margarita Gasparyan (Rus) v Maria Sakkari (Gre, 22)

Ekaterina Alexandrova (Rus, 25) v Jil Belen Teichmann (Swi)

Kaia Kanepi (Est) v qualifier

Paula Badosa Gibert (Sp) v qualifier

Katerina Siniakova (Cz) v Petra Kvitova (Cz, 7)

Naomi Osaka (Jpn, 3) v Marie Bouzkova (Cz)

Saisai Zheng (Chn) v qualifier

Venus Williams (US) v Coco Gauff (US)

Sorana Cirstea (Rom) v Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Cz, 32)

Sloane Stephens (US, 24) v Shuai Zhang (Chn)

Samantha Stosur (Aus) v qualifier

Qualifier v Lizette Cabrera (Aus)

Qualifier v Sofia Kenin (US, 14)

Johanna Konta (GB, 12) v Ons Jabeur (Tun)

Madison Brengle (US) v Caroline Garcia (Fr)

Kristie Ahn (US) v Caroline Wozniacki (Den)

Qualifier v Dayana Yastremska (Ukr, 23)

Qiang Wang (Chn, 27) v Pauline Parmentier (Fr)

Fiona Ferro (Fr) v Alison Van Uytvanck (Bel)

Tamara Zidansek (Svn) v Na-Lae Han (Kor)

Anastasia Potapova (Rus) v Serena Williams (US, 8)

Belinda Bencic (Swi, 6) v Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (Svk)

Qualifier v Jelena Ostapenko (Lat)

Sara Sorribes Tormo (Sp) v Veronika Kudermetova (Rus)

Astra Sharma (Aus) v Anett Kontaveit (Est, 28)

Donna Vekic (Cro, 19) v Maria Sharapova (Rus)

Alize Cornet (Fr) v qualifier

Iga Swiatek (Pol) v Timea Babos (Hun)

Carla Suarez Navarro (Sp) v Aryna Sabalenka (Blr, 11)

Elise Mertens (Bel, 16) v Danka Kovinic (Mon)

Kristyna Pliskova (Cze) v Heather Watson (GB)

Catherine Cartan Bellis (US) v Tatjana Maria (Ger)

Kirsten Flipkens (Bel) v Karolina Muchova (Cz, 20)

Danielle Collins (US, 26) v Vitalia Diatchenko (Rus)

Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) v Su-Wei Hsieh (Tpe)

Qualifier v Misaki Doi (Jpn)

Jennifer Brady (US) v Simona Halep (Rom, 4)

Elina Svitolina (Ukr, 5) v Katie Boulter (GB)

Lauren Davis (US) v qualifier

Garbine Muguruza (Sp) v qualifier

Ajla Tomljanovic (Aus) v Anastasija Sevastova (Lat, 31)

Amanda Anisimova (US, 21) v Zarina Diyas (Kaz)

Jasmine Paolini (It) v Anna Blinkova (Rus)

Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr) v Anastasia Rodionova (Aus)

Irina-Camelia Begu (Rom) v Kiki Bertens (Neth, 9)

Marketa Vondrousova (Cz, 15) v Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus)

Qualifier v Camila Giorgi (It)

Kateryna Kozlova (Ukr) v Priscilla Hon (Aus)

Qualifier v Angelique Kerber (Ger, 17)

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus, 30) v Nina Stojanovic (Ser)

Taylor Townsend (US) v Jessica Pegula (US)

Laura Siegemund (Ger) v Coco Vandeweghe (US)

Kristina Mladenovic (Fr) v Karolina Pliskova (Cz, 2)

On the other side of the draw, it looks as if it will be a race to the semi-finals between Simona Halep and the world No 2, Karolina Pliskova. It is Katie Boulter’s misfortune to be in Pliskova’s quarter – and the Briton is up against the world No 5, Elina Svitolina, in the first round.

On the men’s side, the draw, a magical mystery tour for fringe contenders, has hurled Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund into the same quarter as the seven-time champion Novak Djokovic and, beyond that if the wholly improbable were to happen, the same half as Roger Federer.

Federer, who has six Australian Opens among his 20 grand slam titles, needed two tie-breaks to beat Evans in the second round last year but could not survive against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round. This year, at 38 and moving gracefully but unavoidably towards retirement, he has a less complicated path: the American Steve Johnson to start and, in all probability, his Wimbledon conqueror Djokovic in the semi-finals.

While there is no sense this slam will produce a seismic shift in the order of things, there is no avoiding the conversation. “We’ve helped each other a lot to evolve as players,” Djokovic said of his rivalry with Federer and Rafael Nadal, who has Nick Kyrgios to negotiate on the way to the semis on the other side of the draw. “The rivalry between the three of us has brought us to the tennis heights. We still measure ourselves against the other guys. I think it has contributed to the evolution of the sport.”

He named Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem and Tsitsipas as the main threats to their rule, throwing in the out-of-form Alexander Zverev almost as an afterthought. “I think tennis is in good hands,” he added. “Let’s see. It’s going to happen, and when it happens it’s going to be great for the sport.”

The Dusan Lajovic that Edmund has beaten three times – a qualifier in Shanghai in 2016, in the Davis Cup on clay against Serbia the same year and in Beijing two years ago – is a different first-up beast here. Lajovic showed why he has risen to 27 in the world with some rousing performances during the ATP Cup in Sydney, and comes to Melbourne riding a wave of self-belief.

Quick Guide Australian Open: men's draw Show Seeds in bold, seedings in brackets Rafael Nadal (Sp, 1) v Hugo Dellien (Bol)

Federico Delbonis (Arg) v Joao Sousa (Por)

Qualifier v qualifier

Qualifier v Pablo Carreno-Busta (Sp, 27)

Nick Kyrgios (Aus, 23) v Lorenzo Sonego (It)

Pablo Cuevas (Uru) v Gilles Simon (Fr)

Yasutaka Uchiyama (Jpn) v Mikael Ymer (Swe)

Qualifier v Karen Khachanov (Rus, 16)

Gael Monfils (Fr, 10) v Yen-Hsun Lu (Tpe)

Ivo Karlovic (Cro) v Vasek Pospisil (Can)

James Duckworth (Aus) v Aljaz Bedene (Slo)

Qualifier v Felix Auger-Aliassime (Can, 20)

Taylor Harry Fritz (US, 29) v qualifier

Qualifier v Kevin Anderson (SA)

Alex Bolt (Aus) v Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Sp)

Adrian Mannarino (Fr) v Dominic Thiem (Aut, 5)

Daniil Medvedev (Rus, 4) v Frances Tiafoe (US)

Dominik Koepfer (Ger) v qualifier

Hugo Gaston (Fr) v Jaume Munar (Sp)

Alexei Popyrin (Aus) v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fr, 28)

John Isner (US, 19) v Thiago Moura Monteiro (Br)

Qualifier v qualifier

Miomir Kecmanovic (Ser) v Andreas Seppi (It)

Damir Dzumhur (Bos) v Stan Wawrinka (Swi, 15)

David Goffin (Bel, 11) v Jeremy Chardy (Fr)

Pierre-Hugues Herbert (Fr) v Cameron Norrie (GB)

Yuichi Sugita (Jpn) v qualifier

Christopher O’Connell (Aus) v Andrey Rublev (Rus, 17)

Nikoloz Basilashvili (Geo, 26) v Soon Woo Kwon (Kor)

Fernando Verdasco (Sp) v qualifier

Casper Ruud (Nor) v Egor Gerasimov (Blr)

Marco Cecchinato (It) v Alexander Zverev (Ger, 7)

Matteo Berrettini (It, 8) v Andrew Harris (Aus)

Tennys Sandgren (US) v qualifier

Roberto Carballes Baena (Sp) v Ricardas Berankis (Lit)

Sam Querrey (US) v Borna Coric (Cro, 25)

Guido Pella (Arg, 22) v John-Patrick Smith (Aus)

Qualifier v Gregoire Barrere (Fr)

Jordan Thompson (Aus) v Alexander Bublik (Kaz)

Reilly Opelka (US) v Fabio Fognini (It, 12)

Denis Shapovalov (Can, 13) v Marton Fucsovics (Hun)

Jannik Sinner (It) v qualifier

Leonardo Mayer (Arg) v Tommy Paul (US)

Juan Ignacio Londero (Arg) v Grigor Dimitrov (Bul, 18)

Hubert Hurkacz (Pol, 31) v qualifier

John Millman (Aus) v Ugo Humbert (Fr)

Qualifier v Filip Krajinovic (Ser)

Steve Johnson (US) v Roger Federer (Swi, 3)

Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre, 6) v Salvatore Caruso (It)

Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger) v Marcos Giron (US)

Christian Garin (Chi) v Stefano Travaglia (It)

Radu Albot (Mol) v Milos Raonic (Can, 32)

Benoit Paire (Fr, 21) v Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (Ger)

Marin Cilic (Cro) v Corentin Moutet (Fr)

Pablo Andujar (Sp) v Michael Mmoh (US)

Feliciano Lopez (Sp) v Roberto Bautista Agut (Sp, 9)

Diego Sebastian Schwartzman (Arg, 14) v Lloyd George Harris (SA)

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Sp) v qualifier

Marc Polmans (Aus) v Mikhail Kukushkin (Kaz)

Kyle Edmund (GB) v Dusan Lajovic (Ser, 24)

Daniel Evans (GB, 30) v MacKenzie McDonald (US)

Yoshihito Nishioka (Jpn) v Laslo Djere (Ser)

Tatsuma Ito (Jpn) v qualifier

Jan-Lennard Struff (Ger) v Novak Djokovic (Ser, 2)

Edmund, a semi-finalist two years ago, could be packing his bags after one match if he is not sharp from the first ball. Still, he played quite superbly in the Davis Cup Finals and seems to have buried the blues that threatened to envelop him in a run of eight consecutive defeats last year.

Parked precariously with Evans in Djokovic’s quarter of hell, he most likely will have to beat Mikhail Kukushkin and the tough Argentinian Diego Schwartzman for a fourth-round match against the rampant Serb. The Yorkshireman would relish it, though. At some point, Djokovic has to slip up early in a slam, even if there were few signs of weakness as he led Serbia to victory in the inaugural ATP Cup.

Evans, playing the tennis of his life lately, has a debut against the American Mackenzie McDonald, whom he outstrips in the rankings by 99 places, but probably would then have to beat the improving Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka, who has won their two matches, easily in Washington last year and in a tough three-setter in Atlanta in 2016.

Cam Norrie, disappointing in two of three matches in Sydney, plays the French doubles artiste Pierre-Hugues Herbert but would do well to get past David Goffin in the second round, in the bottom half of Nadal’s side of the draw.