TENNIS: Three unseeded players who could make waves at the Australian Open

By Steven Oldham

The Australian Open begins on Monday as the race to succeed Stanislas Wawrinka and Li Na as champions in Melbourne begins.

Wawrinka is back to defend his title - his first Grand Slam victory - but the popular Na has retired due to persistent knee injuries and there are many contenders gunning for her crown, including former champions Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

In every Grand Slam however, there are unseeded players who light up the tournament by shocking the big names - who can forget Marcos Baghdatis' memorable run to the 2006 Australian Open final, beating Andy Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic and David Nalbandian on the way?

Similarly, few had heard of Lukas Rosol before he dumped Rafael Nadal out of Wimbledon in 2012 - he continued the momentum this victory gave him and has made solid progress up the rankings ever since.

Sports fans are well known for getting behind returning heroes and upcoming talent, and this year should be no different. Here are three players who are coming into Melbourne under the radar.

Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)

World ranking: 41

First round opponent: Sloane Stephens (USA)

Victoria Azarenka is making her comeback in Melbourne (Getty)

Azarenka is no stranger to glory at the Australian Open; she won here twice in both 2012 and 2013. After her 2014 season was ended by a foot injury that hampered her all year in September, she fell down the rankings to 42 and as such is unseeded for the first Grand Slam of the year. The draw could have been kinder to her - should she beat Stephens, her likely second round opponent is Caroline Wozniacki. The stats are in the Belarussian's favour - she has won both previous meetings against Stephens and the American's form drastically declined in the second half of 2014. A narrow defeat to Karolina Pliskova in the Brisbane International earlier this month suggests she is not quite fully at the races yet, but few would disregard a player of her ability.

Borna Coric (Croatia)

World ranking: 91

First round opponent: Jérémy Chardy (France)

The Croatian teenager is a star of the future (Conde Nast)



The Croatian 18-year-old is making his Australian Open debut this year and is a hot tip for the future. Already in the top 100, he made headlines last October by beating Rafael Nadal in the Swiss Indoors in Basel. He qualified for the US Open last year and eliminated the seeded Lukas Rosol in the first round. His impressive list of scalps also includes Ernests Gulbis and Jerzy Janowicz. Named as the ATP Star of Tomorrow, big names including John McEnroe and Mario Ancic have lined up to tip him for big things. He has not played against his first round opponent, the 29th seed Jeremy Chardy, to date, but the Frenchman could come unstuck if Coric turns on the style to add to his growing list of achievements. One to watch. If he progresses to the third round he is likely to meet Roger Federer.

Vasek Pospisil (Canada)

World ranking: 60

First round opponent: Sam Querrey (USA)



2014 Wimbledon doubles champion Vasek Pospisil (The Star)



Vasek Pospisil had his best year to date in 2014. For the first time he competed in all four Grand Slams, albeit going out in the first round on three occasions. He made the third round in Melbourne though before withdrawing through injury ahead of a match against eventual champion Wawrinka. In a twist of fate these two players will meet in round three this year should they progress that far.  He picked up his first Grand Slam title in 2014 by winning the Wimbledon men's doubles with Jack Sock, beating the legendary Bryan brothers in the final.  His achievements in doubles can sometimes overshadow what a capable tennis player he is. The draw sees him up against an out-of-form Sam Querrey, which could be a good match to build momentum and push on through the tournament.

MORE TENNIS

Tennis: Three seeds with tough opening matches at Wimbledon



Easy draw for Djokovic? Tell that to Ferrer, Del Potro and Berdych

LATEST READING:

Can AFCON 2015 make the headlines for the right reasons after Ebola fears, absent big guns and a change of host?

Can Qatar use home advantage to break Europe's domination of the World Handball Championships?

Olympics: How will Agenda 2020 change the future of the Games?