British number one Johanna Konta will play American Madison Brengle in the first round of the Australian Open, which gets under way on Monday.

The 26-year-old, seeded ninth, leads the British singles challenge in the absence of Andy Murray, who is recuperating after hip surgery.

Kyle Edmund and Heather Watson are the only other Britons with direct entry into the main draw.

Naomi Broady could yet join them through qualifying.

Reigning champion Serena Williams is the other notable absentee following the birth of her first child four months ago, but Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka appear ready to play despite injury worries in the build-up.

Britons handed tough draws

Konta has reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals on her last two visits to Melbourne, but has a potentially tough route through the draw this time.

The Sydney-born Briton could face sixth seed Karolina Pliskova in the fourth round and top seed Simona Halep in the quarter-finals.

• BBC coverage times
• Live scores and results

First she must overcome world number 92 Brengle, who has won three of her four matches against Konta, although the Briton was the victor when they last met in 2016.

Edmund, the only British man in the draw following Murray’s withdrawal, faces a difficult opening match against 11th seed Kevin Anderson.

The South African, 31, won their only previous meeting in five sets at last year’s French Open.

“He’s very physical, his forehand is dangerous, it’s going to be a tough match, but every match is tough out here,” said Anderson, the US Open runner-up.

“The guys [in Melbourne] say the courts are playing a little quicker, which could help my serve a little bit.”

Edmund, 23, is ranked 49th and will arrive in Melbourne after pulling out of the warm-up tournament in Auckland as a precautionary measure because of an ankle issue.

Watson, 25, plays 23-year-old Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan – ranked 24 places higher at 50th – in the first round.

Djokovic set for early test

Second seed Roger Federer begins the defence of his title against Aljaz Bedene, who returned to playing under the Slovenian flag on 1 January after nearly three years as a British player.

In the same half of the draw, Djokovic, seeded 14th as he returns from injury, faces American Donald Young in round one and potentially Frenchman Gael Monfils in round two.

Should the Serb make it to the last 16 he could meet fourth seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, who plays Italian Thomas Fabbiano in round one.

Top seed Rafael Nadal plays Victor Estrella Burgos, the world number 81 from Dominican Republic, in his opening match.

Women’s top seed Halep plays Australian teenager Destanee Aiava in her opening match, with former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova a potential third-round opponent.

Maria Sharapova, the 2008 champion, will play German world number 46 Tatjana Maria.

The Russian, 30, is ranked 47th and unseeded after failing a doping test at the 2016 Australian Open and subsequently serving a 15-month ban.

Danish second seed Caroline Wozniacki will begin her bid for a first major title against Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu, while Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, the third seed, plays France’s Jessika Ponchet.

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

Brengle can be an awkward opponent, but is 83 places adrift of Konta in the world rankings. Some mighty tough second-week matches potentially lie in wait, but given the way Konta finished last season – with five defeats in a row – she would relish the opportunity at a venue where she has reached a quarter-final and a semi-final.

Djokovic looks to have a treacherous route to a potential semi-final with Federer, but I’m told his elbow feels fine after appearing in two exhibition events on Wednesday.

Another with a brutal draw is Maria Sharapova, who has the 2016 champion Angelique Kerber as a potential first-week opponent.

The Russian carried the trophy on to court for the draw ceremony in the absence of the defending champion Serena Williams. It was an uncomfortable moment given she herself was missing last year because of a doping ban.

“We wanted to have a former champion. Maria deserved the opportunity,” said tournament director Craig Tiley.

Naomi Broady is the only Briton left in qualifying for the Australian Open after compatriots Katie Boulter and Cameron Norrie were beaten.

Broady, the British number three, recovered to beat Liechtensteiner Kathinka von Deichmann 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3 in the first round.

The seventh seed will face Bibiane Schoofs of the Netherlands next.

Broady needs three wins to qualify for the main draw of the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on Monday.

• Konta faces Brengle in first round of Australian Open
• BBC coverage times

Boulter retired with a leg problem while trailing American Kayla Day 6-4 6-7 (1-7) 5-2, while Norrie was beaten 6-4 6-3 by Australia’s John-Patrick Smith in his second-round match.

Norrie’s defeat means that Kyle Edmund is the only British man in the main draw.

Inspired to play tennis?

Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide.

Serena Williams says that she “absolutely wants” more Grand Slam titles, but does not need them.

The 23-time champion, already the most successful player of the Open era, is two Grand Slam titles away from surpassing Margaret Court’s record.

Williams, who said she was bedridden for six weeks after giving birth to daughter Olympia in September, said motherhood had taken away her anxiety.

“I don’t need the money or the titles or the prestige,” Williams told Vogue.

“I think having a baby might help. When I’m too anxious I lose matches, and I feel like a lot of that anxiety disappeared when Olympia was born.

“Maybe this goes without saying, but it needs to be said in a powerful way: I absolutely want more grand slams.”

In a wide-ranging interview, Williams discussed:

• The “low” moments of becoming a mother;
• Her on-court rivalry with older sister Venus;
• How she wants to teach her daughter not to “limit” herself

‘No-one talks about the low moments’

Williams told the American magazine that “everything went bad” in the aftermath of giving birth to her first child.

Her daughter was delivered by emergency Caesarean section after the baby’s heart rate dropped, and Williams fell ill the day after giving birth.

The American suffered several blood clots in her lung and her surgery wound re-opened, leaving her bed bound for six weeks.

Williams played an exhibition match in December, which was her first since giving birth, and forced the game against French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko into a tie-break.

• Bumps, boobs and bouncing back – an athlete’s path through pregnancy

On the difficulties of motherhood, Williams said: “Sometimes I get really down and feel like, ‘man, I can’t do this’. It is that same negative attitude I have on the court sometimes.

“I guess that’s just who I am. No one talks about the low moments – the pressure you feel, the incredible letdown every time you hear the baby cry.

“I’ve broken down I don’t know how many times, or I’ll get angry about the crying, then sad about being angry, and then guilty. The emotions are insane.”

Williams also said that since having her daughter she had changed her perspective on tennis.

“I want titles but I don’t need them. That’s a different feeling for me,” she added.

‘Venus’ face breaks my heart when we play’

Williams beat older sister Venus to claim her 23rd Grand Slam title in January 2017 – the 17th time she had defeated her sister in 28 meetings.

Venus initially had the better of the rivalry but since 2009 she has beaten her sister just twice, winning their quarter-final in Dubai that year and then winning against Serena in three sets at the Rogers Cup in 2014.

“I hate playing Venus because she gets this look on her face where she just looks sad if she’s losing. Solemn. It breaks my heart,” Williams said.

“When I play her now, I absolutely don’t look at her, because if she gets that look, then I’ll start feeling bad, and the next thing you know I’ll be losing.

“I think that’s when the turning point came in our rivalry – when I stopped looking at her.”

‘I think sometimes women limit themselves’

Williams returned to number one in the world after winning the Australian Open, but has slipped to 23rd in her absence from the tour.

Romania’s Simona Halep is currently the top-ranked player, and Williams said she had received messages of support from fellow players, as well as gifts for her daughter.

“There hasn’t been a clear number one since I was there. It will be cool to see if I get there again, to what I call my spot – where I feel I belong,” she said.

Williams added that she would not push her daughter into tennis, but would teach her that “there are no limits” to what she can do.

“I think sometimes women limit themselves. I’m not sure why we think that way,” Williams added.

“I know that we’re sometimes taught to not dream as big as men, taught not to believe we can be a president, when in the same household, a male child is told he can be anything he wants.

“I’m so glad I had a daughter. I want to teach her that there are no limits.”

British number two Heather Watson beat world number 55 Donna Vekic to make the semi-finals of the Hobart International in Australia.

Watson won 6-0 6-4 to reach her second WTA Tour semi-final since winning the Monterrey Open in March 2016.

The world number 74, who won the title in Tasmania in 2015, had a 6-0 5-0 lead but had to dig deep as her Croatian opponent won four games in a row.

Watson, 25, will face defending champion Elise Mertens on Friday.

The Briton last reached the semi-finals of a tour event at Eastbourne in 2017.

“My confidence is very high at the moment,” Watson said. “At the beginning of the year, you want a lot of matches and that’s definitely what I’ve gotten the last two weeks.

“Every match I play, I feel like I’m getting better and better, tennis-wise and mentally.”