updated 8:08 p.m. ET Jan. 10, 2008

MELBOURNE, Australia - Roger Federer, recovering from a stomach virus and out of competition since November, landed in the same half of the Australian Open draw as No. 3 Novak Djokovic and four former finalists Friday.

The Grand Slam event will start Monday at Melbourne Park.

Bidding for a third consecutive Australian title and 13th Grand Slam victory, Federer will open against Argentina’s Diego Hartfield and could meet veteran Frenchman Fabrice Santoro, in his 62nd major, in the second round.

James Blake and Tomas Berdych are in Federer’s quarter and, if seeded players progress on rankings, Federer will meet No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez in the quarterfinals — a rematch of last year’s Australian Open final.

Djokovic looms in the semis if he can get past a tough quarter that includes former Australian Open champions Marat Safin and Thomas Johansson, both unseeded, and former finalists Marcos Baghdatis (2006) and Lleyton Hewitt (2005).

David Nalbandian, who beat both Federer and Nadal in the same tournament twice in October en route to titles in Madrid and Paris, is in Djokovic’s quarter along with David Ferrer of Spain and former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Three-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal, the only player to beat Federer in the last 10 Grand Slam events, will have to get past fellow Spaniard Carlos Moya en route to a potential quarterfinal match against former U.S. Open champion Andy Roddick.

If he makes the semifinals, second-ranked Nadal could face the likes of No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, No. 8 Richard Gasquet or No. 9 Andy Murray, who has a difficult opening match against young Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

On the women’s side, No. 1 Justine Henin won’t face a Top 10 player until a potential quarterfinal match against No. 5 Maria Sharapova, who lost last year’s final to Serena Williams.

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Sharapova has a difficult second-round match against former No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, who was unseeded despite winning three titles since her comeback following the birth of son Jagger, her first child, last June.

Williams has a relatively easy path to the quarterfinals with wild-card entry Jarmila Gajdosova in the first round and the prospect of two qualifiers after that.

No. 3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia or 2006 Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo figure to be her likely quarterfinal rivals.

On the other half, No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova cannot meet a Top 10 player until a quarterfinal against fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze, who is seeded sixth. In the semis, she could meet No. 8 Venus Williams, the Wimbledon champion, or No. 4 Ana Ivanovic.

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