Despite a stellar 2017 season, which saw the 31-year-old claim the US Open and a record 10th French Open title, Nadal played down the significance of beginning the year with the No.1 ranking.
Djokovic is seeded 14th and will be coming off just a couple of exhibition matches to prepare for his first-round encounter against Donald Young at Australian Open.
Let's have a quick look over male tennis icons, who are expected to shine at Melbourne Park
Federer beat Nadal in a five-set final for his 18th Grand Slam title — and his first since 2012 — and later won Wimbledon.
Former world number one Novak Djokovic, who is making a comeback after a six-month layoff due to a tennis elbow injury, is ranked 14 in the first major of the season.
Top-ranked Nadal will start his campaign against Victor Estrella Burgos, has a potential fourth-round match against John Isner, and has No. 3-ranked Grigor Dimitrov in the same half of the draw, which was held on Thursday at Margaret Court Arena.
Bhambri, with an ATP ranking of 121 and ranked 15th in the qualifiers, for the second time in his career defeated Canadian Davis Cupper B. Schnur 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The former No. 1-ranked Murray, a three-time major winner, has not played a competitive match since a quarterfinal exit at Wimbledon last July.
Nadal's readiness for the first Grand Slam of the year had been in doubt after the top-ranked Spaniard pulled out of an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi and from Brisbane International to start the 2018 season.
Azarenka hasn't competed anywhere since Wimbledon, where she lost to Simona Halep in the fourth round on July 10.
Serena's withdrawal comes less than 24 hours after fellow former world No.1 Andy Murray withdrew from the men's event with a chronic hip injury.
Muguruza retired from her Brisbane International opener with leg cramps while leading in the third set.
The five-time finalist withdrew from the Australian Open on Thursday, two days after pulling out of a tuneup event in Brisbane before his first match.
Nishikori has been sidelined since August because of his wrist. That kept him out of the U.S. Open, snapping a streak of appearing in 21 consecutive major tournaments.
Nadal had reached the semi-finals in Brisbane early this year before claiming his first grand slam final in two-and-a-half years at the Australian Open.
Nadal is slated to make a comeback at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, beginning December 29.
The former world number has not played any competition for a long time and is likely to make a comeback in Melbourne for the first time since giving birth to a baby girl in September.
Sania won the 2016 Australian Open women's doubles title with Martina Hingis before announcing their split in August.
Azarenka, who won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013, has been involved in a custody dispute involving her son Leo, who was born last Dec. 19.
In the past, tennis legends like Boris Becker, Stanislas Wawrinka, Carlos Moya, Marin Cilic and Rafael Nadal have competed in the tournament which has been renamed as Maharashtra Open.
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