#7. Roberto Bautista Agut
The Spaniard created one of the upsets of the 2014 Australian Open by stunning 2009 US Open champion and then fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round which earned him the nickname “Aussie Agut”. Bautista Agut again created headlines later that year by reaching the semi-finals of the Madrid Open. His performances in the 2014 ATP World Tour earned him the ATP’s Most Improved Player Award and a place in the Top 15 of the ATP rankings.However, a few disappointing performances saw Bautista Agut end 2015 out of the Top 20 but he bounced back well last year with the highlight of his Tour being reaching his first ever Masters 1000 final at Shanghai by stunning Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. He ended the year ranked 14th in the world.Bautista Agut has reached the fourth round of all Grand Slams and given the promising performances he put on last year, there is a good chance that the Spaniard might reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final this year as well as enter the Top 10 of the ATP rankings. Bautista Agut has reached the fourth round of the Australian Open twice, in 2014 and 2016, with his best chance of reaching the quarter-finals coming last year when he gave Tomas Berdych a tough fight before losing in five sets.This year, Bautsita Agut has been drawn in Section 6 of the main draw and will be up against Argentine Guido Pella in the first round but will be expected to win his opening game and his second round match as well where he would most probably play Yoshihito Nishioka.However, he would face a tricky challenge in the third round where he would most likely face David Ferrer who has been out of touch lately but having known Ferrer to bounce back from these setbacks, he could give Bautista Agut a tough fight. If he wins against Ferrer, Bautista Agut would have an even tougher competitor in the fourth round in third seed Milos Raonic who is one of the tournament favorites.Although the Spaniard will be expected to choke in the fourth round once again, he is capable of producing an upset or two and might finally end his fourth round drought at a Grand Slam this year.
