The Baseline Top 8: Dangerous floaters in the Aussie draws

8

Maria Sharapova

It’s hard to gauge where things stand now with the 2008 Australian Open champ: She got some tournament play this year in Shenzhen but was forced to retire against Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. Seeded No. 30 this year, she’ll see qualifier Harriet Dart first with a possible Caroline Wozniacki showdown looming later on.

Past Grand Slam champs, ex-members of the Top 10 and players known for pulling off upsets—they’re all among the pros that might not be considered among the favorites for the Australian Open, but can do some damage at the year’s first major. Here’s a look at eight of them.

1

Tomas Berdych

Kyle Edmund, the No. 13 seed this year, faces one of the toughest openers in the tournament as he’ll take on Berdych first up. The Czech—who’s reached the fourth round or better at the Australian Open 10 times in his career—is on the comeback trail from injury. He’s gotten off to a strong start in 2019, having reached the final in Doha the first week.

2

Venus Williams

The American, who reached the final in 2017 but struggled throughout 2018, is unseeded this year. She’s gotten a few matches under her belt already in 2019 and has the opportunity to pull off an upset right off the bat when she plays Mihaela Buzarnescu, the No. 25 seed.

3

Gilles Simon

The Frenchman is still going strong at 34, and though he failed to defend his title in Pune, India, at the start of the year, he posted a couple of impressive wins over the week. If he and Alexander Zverev, the fourth seed, meet in the third round, the potential is there for an upset.

4

Victoria Azarenka

Obviously, Azarenka knows what it takes to succeed in Melbourne, having won the title twice in her career. She has a tough first-round opponent in Laura Siegemund, which will be a battle between two players on the comeback trail.

5

Ekaterina Makarova

The veteran Russian has made a career of pulling off upsets at the majors, with the Australian Open being her most successful Slam: Her seven-year streak of reaching the second week in Melbourne came to an end last year. Aryna Sabalenka, who’s on many a dark-horse list, has to be on top of her game should these two meet in the second round.

6

Grigor Dimitrov

A lot of eyes will be on the Bulgarian, who had a career-best year in 2017—which included reaching the Australian Open semifinals—but came down to earth in ’18. He returns to Melbourne with four-time champ Andre Agassi in the coach’s box.

7

Stan Wawrinka

The 2014 Australian Open had a strong finish last year after a knee injury forced him to the sidelines. The good run continued into 2019, where he knocked off world No. 11 Karen Khachanov in his first match of the season. At the Australian, he’ll play one of the more intriguing openers when he faces Ernests Gulbis.

Follow Van on Twitter: @Van_Sias

8

Maria Sharapova

It’s hard to gauge where things stand now with the 2008 Australian Open champ: She got some tournament play this year in Shenzhen but was forced to retire against Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. Seeded No. 30 this year, she’ll see qualifier Harriet Dart first with a possible Caroline Wozniacki showdown looming later on.

Follow Van on Twitter: @Van_Sias

Kickoff each day of the 2019 Australian Open with Tennis Channel Live, reviewing the day's most important news and previewing the day's biggest matches. Watch LIVE at 6 p.m. ET.

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Kickoff each day of the 2019 Australian Open with Tennis Channel Live, reviewing the day's most important news and previewing the day's biggest matches. Watch LIVE at 6 p.m. ET.

Follow the Australian Open even closer with Tennis Channel PLUS. Go to BuyTCPlus.com and subscribe now!