5 players who made their Grand Slam breakthrough at the Australian Open

#3 Thomas Johansson - 2002

Joachim Johansson (right) at the 2002 Australian Open

Sweden's decade-long wait for a men's singles Grand Slam champion was brought to an end by the unlikely triumph of Thomas Johansson at the 2002 Australian Open.

The weight of Swedish expectations for a Grand Slam champion had downed many a good Swedish player since Stefan Edberg won the 1992 US Open. Thomas Enqvist faltered in the 1999 Australian Open final against Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and Magnus Norman fell short in the 2000 Roland Garros final against Gustavo Kuerten.

For a player who never made it past the Australian Open third round in seven previous appearances at the tournament, Johansson exceeded expectations merely by reaching the second week in Melbourne that Australian summer. But the fortnight was to get better still for the Swede.

Johansson overcame Romania's Adrian Boinea in the fourth round and fellow countryman Jonas Bjorkman in the quarterfinals to reach his first Major semifinal, where Czech Jiri Novak lay in wait.

After taking the first set on a tiebreak, Johansson spectacularly unraveled in the next two sets as he won a combined four games. But the Swede regrouped in time, claiming a hard-fought five-set win with his fourth match point to reach his maiden Major final.

In a competitive title match against 2000 US Open winner Marat Safin, Johansson lost his serve twice in the opening set as the tall Russian took a one-set lead. Thereafter Johansson took control of the contest, as Safin ceded the initiative to his inspired opponent.

Johansson's backhand and return of serve coupled with the seemingly disinterested Safin's flurry of unforced errors meant that the former became the first 16th seed to win a Grand Slam tournament. He was also the lowest-ranked player to win a Major since 66th ranked Gustavo Kuerten's triumph at Roland Garros 1997.

As a result of his Grand Slam breakthrough, Johansson broke into the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time.

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