Australia's No.1 men's player Lleyton Hewitt leads ten Aussies into battle at their home grand slam today, with both he and Chris Guccione confident they can join three compatriots already through to the second round.

Hewitt says he's practising well, needing only an ounce of luck at the right time to win the Australian Open at his 12th attempt.

And rising star Guccione, who knocked Hewitt out of the Sydney International last week en route to the final, is confident he has never been better placed to go deep into the Open.

The big-serving 22-year-old has only won one match in four previous attempts at his home grand slam - in 2004.

But he faces the unusual situation of entering his opening round match as favourite against Korean Hyung Taik-Lee, despite being ranked 44 places below him at world No.47.

Guccione advanced to his second tour final last week in Sydney before being ousted by Russian Dmitry Tursunov.

"I think for sure I'm playing a lot better than last year," Guccione said.

"I'm moving a lot better on court and feeling a lot stronger out there.

"The biggest thing I can take away from Sydney is the confidence that I know I can beat the top players back to back, in such a tough tournament."

Hewitt, seeded 19th, begins his tournament against Belgian Steve Darcis on Rod Laver Arena.

Queenslander Robert Smeets is scheduled to take on Argentina's 10th seed David Nalbandian, who has been battling a back problem.

Peter Luczak, Alun Jones, Joe Sirianni, Sophie Ferguson, Christina Wheeler, Nicole Pratt and Russian-turned-Australian Anastasia Rodionova also play their opening round matches today.

All will be hoping to follow the example of Alicia Molik, Casey Dellacqua and Jess Moore, who advanced to the second round with wins on Monday.

Men's No.1 seed Roger Federer opens his tournament tonight on Rod Laver Arena, taking on Argentina's Diego Hartfield.

His nearest rival Rafael Nadal is already through to the second round after winning his match against Serbian Viktor Troicki in straight sets on Rod Laver Arena late on Monday night.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP