Novak Djokovic

With all the controversy caused by Djokovic and the Australian government, the reality of the situation is that it is sad the current champion won’t be able to defend his crown. Having won the last three tournaments on the bounce between 2019-2021, the skilful Serbian has enjoyed some memorable victories Down Under over the past few years — seeing off Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, respectively, in each final.

Widely regarded as one of the best players of the current generation, the world number one enjoyed a fantastic year last year, adding more Grand Slam titles to his name, including a great performance at Wimbledon against Italian Matteo Berrettini, and surpassing Pete Sampras' record of six year-end No.1ranking finishes.

Roger Federer

You’d have to go back as far as 2018 to find a different winner of the Australian Open than Djokovic — in this case, it is certainly worthy opposition in the form of Roger Federer. The Swiss superstar, currently ranked 17th in the world due to persistent injury problems, enjoyed his last win Down Under against Marin Čilić in a game that made Federer the first man to win 20 Grand Slam titles.

He was certainly made to earn it though, with a final score of 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 showing Čilić, who was admittedly outplayed for the majority of the match, still had the heart to fight back despite the obvious difference in quality between the pair. Things just fell into place for Federer in Melbourne and some almost flawless backhand shots in the latter stages of the final put the competition out of reach for the Croatian, who could have really upset the tennis Australian Open tips , but has failed to get that far in another Grand Slam since.

Stan Wawrinka

With the last decade obviously being dominated by the powerhouses of tennis’s ‘big four’, you have to look at 2014 to find another champion — Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka. He took on Nadal in the final, who had struggled with injuries throughout the competition and looked uncomfortable, something that surprised the majority in attendance considering the Spaniard was world number one at the time. Wawrinka overturned Tomáš Berdych in the semi-final and rode the crest of a wave all the way through Melbourne Park, something he had clearly wanted to achieve for some time.

"I still think that I'm dreaming," said Wawrinka. "It's a strange feeling. I saw so many finals. I always try to watch the finals of Grand Slams because that's where the best players are playing.

"Before today, for me it wasn't a dream. I never expected to play a final. I never expected to win a Grand Slam. And right now I just did it."