The number one seed, winner on eight of the last nine occasions in Melbourne, is vying for a semi-final spot against the winner of the match between Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and home favourite Adam Kellerman.

The other side of the eight-man draw is headlined by number two seed Stéphane Houdet, who has suffered defeat at the hands of Kunieda in four of the last seven finals.

The Frenchman starts his campaign against compatriot Nicolas Peifer.

The winner will face either Belgium’s Joachim Gerard or The Netherlands’ Maikel Scheffers in the last four.

In the women’s singles, 2015 champion Jiske Griffioen of The Netherlands opens the defence of her title against Britain’s Lucy Shuker.

The other game in the top half of the draw sees Shuker’s fellow Briton Jordanne Whiley meets Dutchwoman Marjolein Buis. 

If the competition goes to form, Griffioen will go up against the Japanese second seed Yui Kamiji in the final, as she did last year.

The two-time Australian Open runner-up plays Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock in her first match with South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane or The Netherlands’ Aniek Van Koot awaiting in the semi-finals.

Houdet and Peifer are the top seeds in the men’s doubles event, while Griffioen and Van Koot are the pairing to beat in the women’s doubles.

Australia’s Dylan Alcott is one of four men hoping for success in the quad singles, along with Britain’s Andrew Lapthorne, South Africa’s Lucas Sithole and the United States’ David Wagner.

Wagner and Sithole will team up in the quads doubles final against Lapthorne and Alcott as the only two duos competing.