Who doesn't love an underdog?
The tennis world is renowned for producing shock winners and underdogs who become crowd favourites.
Seeded players tend to have a favourable draw at any tennis tournament, thereby making the achievement of winning a Grand Slam as an unseeded player that bit more extraordinary.
In a year where the tennis world has been thrown upside-down thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, now is as good a time for an underdog to make that run to an unlikely Grand Slam title.
Sporting News takes a look at the only unseeded players to have won a grand slam in the Open era.
Mark Edmondson - Australian Open 1976
Edmondson became the first person of the Open era to win a Grand Slam as an unseeded player.
The Australian was ranked 212th in the world and upset Aussie legend John Newcombe in the final after coming back from a set down.
He reached a career-high ranking of #15 in the world in 1982.
Chris O'Neil - Australian Open 1978
O'Neil was the first woman to win a grand slam as an unseeded player in 1978.
The Australian upset 7th seed Betsy Nagelsen in straight sets to claim her only Grand Slam title.
She went on to reach a career-high ranking of 80 and is the last Aussie woman to win the Australian Open.
Mats Wilander - French Open 1982
Wilander became the youngest men's Grand Slam winner when he took out the French Open at the age of 17.
The Swedish star defeated third seed, Guillermo Vilas in the final, in a match lasting four hours and 42 minutes.
Wilander had a glittering career winning seven grand slams and becoming the top-ranked male in 1988.
Boris Becker - Wimbledon 1985
Becker was 17 years and 227 days when he won his first Grand Slam, overtaking Wilander as the youngest male winner.
He knocked over hot favourite and eighth seed, Kevin Curren who defeated John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors on the way to the final.
The young German star had a stunning career, becoming the world number one in 1991 and winning six grand slam titles.
Andre Agassi - US Open 1994
Agassi's US Open win in 1994 was his second career Grand Slam title after winning Wimbledon in 1992 as a seeded player.
The US tennis star didnt compete at the Australian Open in 1994 and had poor showings at the French Open and Wimbledon in the lead up to the US Open.
However, Agassi had a dominant tournament to take out the final in straight sets.
He won eight grand slam titles and reached a career-high ranking of number one in 1995.
Gustavo Kuerten - French Open 1997
The 20-year-old Brazilian defeated two-time champion Sergi Bruguera in straight sets to claim his first overall title.
Kuerten's shocked the tennis world throughout the tournament, even knocking over clay court specialist Thomas Muster in the third round
He is the only Brazillian male grand slam singles champion, winning three French Opens and becoming the top-ranked male player in 2000.
Goran Ivanisevic - Wimbledon 2001
Ivanisevic was a wildcard entry into the tournament after being ranked outside the top 100 and became the first wildcard entrant to win a Grand Slam.
The Croat had previously lost three Wimbledon finals in the 90s before knocking over Aussie legend, Pat Rafter in a five-set final.
Ivanisevic reached a career-high ranking of two in the world.
Gaston Gaudio - French Open 2004
Gaudio amazingly knocked over three countrymen on the way to taking out the 2004 French Open.
After convincingly trailing opponent Guillermo Coria in the final by two sets, Gaudio's resilience came through to win the five-setter.
The Argentine achieved a career-high ranking of five in 2005.
Serena Williams - Australian Open 2007
The US tennis legend went into the 2007 Australian Open ranked 81 in the world after a string of injuries and battle with depression in the previous 12 months.
Williams knocked over several top 20 players on the way to the title where she defeated Russian Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 to win her eighth Grand Slam title.
The 36-year-old first became the top-ranked female in 2002 and currently has 23 Grand Slams to her name.
Kim Clijsters - US Open 2009
The Belgian tennis star had previously retired in 2007 and spent two years out of the sport, having a baby along the way before returning to the courts in 2009.
Clijsters was granted a wildcard into the 2009 US Open and took out the title, defeating Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets in the final.
She won four Grand Slams in her career and first became world number one in 2003.
Jelena Ostapenko - French Open 2017
The first ever Latvian to win a Grand Slam.
The 20-year-old was ranked 47th in the world heading into Roland Garros and shocked 3rd seed Simona Halep in the final.
Ostapenko currently sits at a career-high ranking of seven in the world.
Sloane Stephens - US Open 2017
Stephens burst onto the tennis scene in 2013 when she reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
However, after form and injury battles she dropped to 957 in the world at one point in 2017 and entered the Open by virtue of protected ranking (provision to long-term injured players).
The US star defeated 15th seed Madison Keys in an all-US final, dropping only three games to win the title.
Stephens reached a career-high ranking of 11 in the world and currently sits at 13.
Marketa Vondrousova - Wimbledon 2023
Marketa Vondrousova created history in 2023 when she became the first unseeded woman to win the Wimbledon single's championship.
She defeated five seeded players on her way to the final, including then world number four Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals, earning a date against Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who was number six in the WTA rankings at the time.
She then ended her fairytale run with the perfect ending, winning in straight sets to become a record breaker and history maker.
After her Wimbledon win, she shot up to number six in the rankings, and she is set to be seeded in 2024.
