The draw for the 2014 Australian Open has been made. It should see relatively easy progress for the top seeds to get past the first round, but as the players on the list below know, nothing can be taken for granted.
Here, Sports Mole rounds up some of the biggest upsets in men's tennis history.
1. Lukas Rosol vs. Rafael Nadal - Wimbledon 2012
There is no doubt that players who are lower ranked in the world up their game when they face a top seed and this is exactly what happened to Rafael Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon in 2012. His opponent Lukas Rosol was ranked 100 and Nadal had reached the third round at all Grand Slams he had entered since 2005. However, the debutant Czech used every ounce of his effort and ability to stun the two-time champion in a five-set thriller.
2. Richard Krajicek vs. Pete Sampras - Wimbledon 1996
At the time, Pete Sampras had won seven Grand Slams and was comfortably the best player in tennis. Richard Krajicek was no mug as the 17th seed, but still stood very little chance of getting past the American and into the semi-finals at the All England club. On possibly his best day as a professional, Krajicek saw off Sampras in straight sets, managing to beat him at his own huge, brutish game.
3. Adriano Panatta vs. Bjorn Borg - French Open 1976
Okay, Italian Adriano Panatta was in the top 10 in the world when he took on Bjorn Born in the 1976 French Open quarter-finals. But this was Borg. The Swede was the most dominant tennis player at the time and particularly impressive at the French. He won the tournament six times between 1974 and 1981, but in 1986 he was bettered by a player who went on to win his first and only Grand Slam.
4. Sergiy Stakhovsky vs. Roger Federer - Wimbledon 2013
Roger Federer has already gone down in history as probably the greatest tennis player of all time and, even though he was clearly no longer at his best in last year's Wimbledon few expected anything other than a straight-sets win over Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Swiss had reached 36 consecutive Slam quarter-finals, but was undone on the day by a resilient world number 116 who came from a set down to win 3-1 in the second round.
5. Rafael Nadal vs. Robin Soderling - French Open 2009
One thing is assumed in the modern tennis world: you do not beat Rafael Nadal on clay. No-one had told Robin Soderling in 2009, however, who as 23rd seed against the best clay court player of all time was a rank outsider. Nadal has won the Paris title on eight occasions, but the Swede outclassed him in the 2009 fourth round to win through in four sets.
Matt Domm
