MELBOURNE - World number one Novak Djokovic’s bid for a third successive Australian Open title has been given a boost with a relatively smooth draw in the first Grand Slam of the season.The 25-year-old Serb kicks off his title defence with a first round tie against unseeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the draw announced on Friday and faces no major hurdles until a potentially dangerous quarter-final against fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych.In a top half of the draw free of ‘Big Four’ rivals Roger Federer, Andy Murray and the absent Rafa Nadal, a possible semi-final clash with fourth seed David Ferrer, looms for five-times Grand Slam winner Djokovic, who beat the tenacious Spaniard in the quarter-finals last year.“I think realistically, three can win,” Australia’s former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said at the draw, referring to Djokovic, second seed Federer and third-seeded Murray.Former world number one Federer faces a tough first week in his bid to add to his record 17 Grand Slam titles, however.The four-time champion will also play an unseeded Frenchman in Benoit Paire in his opener, but is likely to face former top-10 player Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in the second round before another potentially tricky clash with local hope Bernard Tomic in the third.Big-serving Milos Raonic of Canada, the 13th seed, is then an unpalatable prospect in the last 16, with athletic Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a good chance to meet the Swiss in the quarter-finals.U.S. Open champion Murray will start his campaign against unseeded Dutchman Robin Haase but the Briton is likely to have one eye on Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, who looms as a possible quarter-final opponent.The towering Del Potro, who upset Federer to win the 2009 U.S. Open but has since struggled with injuries, shapes as a big threat to Murray’s hopes of a second Grand Slam title after enjoying a solid season in 2012 with four titles.
