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.

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Tennis: Three seeds with tough opening matches at Wimbledon

By Steven Oldham

The first round of Wimbledon always throws up surprises with seeded players being knocked out by relative unknowns and those lower in the rankings.

Whether rising stars or seasoned pros dropping down the rankings, the courts of SW19 are often a great leveller for the unseeded players.

This year's draw has revealed some interesting first round ties and some seeds have been handed far more difficult ties than they would like. I've picked three who would probably have liked an easier start to the tournament than they are likely to get.

Gentlemen's Singles:

Marcel Granollers (30) vs Nicolas Mahut

Doubles specialist Marcel Granollers could be in danger of an early exit after being drawn against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. The two men have never played head to head before so there is no past form to go on, but the Spaniard's past form at Wimbledon is poor. In seven attempts, he has only been past the opening round twice - and on both of those occasions he was eliminated in the second round. His best results consistently come on clay, whereas Mahut's favoured surface is grass.  He is already part of Wimbledon folklore for his role in the longest match in history with John Isner in 2010.  He comes into the tournament in relatively poor form, having been knocked out in several tournaments by lower ranked players, but he has the grass court technique and smarts to unsettle Granollers and make the next round.

Marathon man Nicolas Mahut (@WilsonTennis)

Andreas Seppi (25) vs Leonardo Mayer

Argentina's Leonardo Mayer is in danger of being one of the forgotten players of his generation having shown much promise early in his career. He has yet to better his achievements from 2010 in any of the Grand Slams, with his best performance coming in the US Open where he reached the third round. This year however he has been unlucky, with matches against members of the 'big four' in the two Grand Slams - Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal knocked him out of the Australian and French Opens respectively. All three of his matches againt Seppi have been losing efforts on clay, but the Italian hasn't been in great form, with surprise losses against the likes of Michael Llodra, Donald Young and Denis Istomin since the turn of the year. He should have too much for Mayer, but it wouldn't be the first time he has fallen to supposed lesser opposition.

Can Andreas Seppi tough it out over Leo Mayer? (@WeAreTennis)

Ladies' singles:

Sloane Stephens (19) vs Maria Kirilenko

Russia's Maria Kirilenko continues her long comeback from a knee injury against Sloane Stephens in the first round at Wimbledon. She will be hoping for an improvement on last year, where she was eliminated in the first round by Laura Robson, a match which saw her lose her top ten ranking. It was the beginning of a rapid slide down the listings for Kirilenko, whose injury problems destroyed the latter half of last year and caused her to miss the Australian Open. She had shown much promise in the first half of 2013, recording victories over top tier players including Sabine Lisicki and Petra Kvitova on her way to the top ten for the first time. She has the talent to beat Stephens, but if her troublesome knee will allow her to do so is another matter. The American - six years Kirilenko's junior - has won the only previous meeting between the two. She made the quarter finals last year before losing to eventual winner Marion Bartoli but arguably did not come up against an opponent of Kirilenko's quality in the four rounds before that game.



Can Maria Kirilenko upset Sloane Stephens? (@WTA)