There are many interesting story lines as the Australian Open gets under way. Can Lleyton Hewitt prevail after a bout with chicken pox? Can Jennifer Capriati repeat last year's magic? Will the Williams sisters make a run at another major championship?

The draw is out and if the seeds held to form, there would be a couple of marquee quarterfinal matchups: Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras and Martina Hingis vs. Serena Williams stand out. Serena and sister Venus Williams would meet in the semifinals.

Both Agassi and Sampras have potentially difficult round of 16 showdowns; Agassi could face Andy Roddick and Sampras could battle Marat Safin.

While there are 32 seeds, there are still a number of compelling first-round matches.

With the first major tennis tournament of the season about to begin, it is time to break down the top first-round matches:

Men's first round
Lleyton Hewitt (1) vs. Alberto Martin
All Australian eyes will be on U. S. Open champion and world No. 1 Hewitt as he returns from his illness. He has a very tough bracket, with the likes of Agassi, Sampras, Safin and Roddick on his side of the draw.

The first-round matchup is a good news, bad news situation. The bad news is Martin is ranked 41st in the world, a high rating for a first-round opponent. The good news is the Spaniard has never gotten past the second round of the Australian Open.

Gustavo Kuerten (2) vs. Julien Boutter
The Frenchman is ranked 53rd in the world and not an easy opponent. Kuerten has not enjoyed much success Down Under, never getting past the second round of the Australian Open.

Pete Sampras (8) vs Jarkko Nieminen
The Finnish player is on the rise while Sampras is on the downside of his career. Can Pete make a little noise in this tournament?

Roger Federer (11) vs. Michael Chang
Chang is still battling, though he lost in the first round of the Australian Open the past two years. His last strong showing Down Under came in 1997 when he made it to the semifinals.

Andy Roddick (13) vs. Mariano Zabaleta
How much has Roddick matured? This could be a test since the Argentinian has won his first round match there three straight years.

Alex Corretja (14) vs. James Blake
American youngster Blake could have had an easier draw.

Jan-Michael Gambill (19) vs. Wayne Ferreira
Would it really be a big upset if American Gambill was knocked off here? Ferreira has never lost a first-round singles match at the Australian Open, making the third round last year and the round of 16 in '99 and 2000.

Jiri Novak (26) vs. Nicolas Kiefer
Kiefer has had some success Down Under, making the quarterfinals in ?98 and ?00. Not a big-name battle but should be very competitive.

Albert Costa vs. Felix Mantilla
The winner of this battle of unseeded Spaniards gets the right to face Agassi in the second round.

Women's first round
Martina Hingis (3) vs. Virginie Razzano
This is a rematch of last year's third-round showdown. Razzano is a former Australian Open junior champion and a player on the rise.

Serena Williams (5) vs. Conchita Martinez
Martinez is ranked 35th in the world, so she just missed out on a seed. Williams would have preferred an easier opener since Martinez made the Australian Open semis in 2000.

Justine Henin (6) vs. Anna Kournikova
Pity poor Anna! Will she ever win a tournament? With this draw, she shouldn't be around long.

Monica Seles (8) vs. Patty Schnyder
Schnyder has been playing better lately, and she has made the round of 16 in Melbourne three times.

Meghan Shaughnessy (10) vs. Alexandra Stevenson
Stevenson scored a big upset over Jennifer Capriati in an Australian Open warm-up event.

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (14) vs. Iva Majoli
A battle of former French Open champions.

Howie Schwab is a coordinating producer for ESPN.