By:  Betsy Hicks, Sports Editor

After five days of exciting action in Melbourne, 24 men still remain in the hunt to capture the Australian Open Singles Title. Although the ‘Big 4’ have dominated the tournament so far (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray), there has not been a shortage of upsets. Australian youngster Bernard Tomic finds himself in the fourth round after taking out 22nd seed Fernando Verdasco, Sam Querrey, and 13th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov. Nicolus Mahut has also made a nice run of his own. Known for his 11 hour match against John Isner, Mahut finds himself in the third round of a Grand Slam event for the second time in his 12 year career on the tour. While I could continue listing lesser-known players who remain in the draw, what are the chances that they break through the ‘Big 4’?  If so, who will it be?

Looking at the top quarter of the draw it may be hard to imagine anyone who will give Djokovic a challenge. While Nicolus Mahut may end up providing Novak with another easy win, the road will become much tougher when he will (likely) play Milos Raonic. With a huge serve alongside respectable movement, the Canadian has started the year off with a title Chennai including an impressive victory over world number nine Janko Tipsarevic. However, below Novak lies an army of four seeded players including the best player outside the ‘Big 4,’ David Ferrer, and fellow compatriot Tipsarevic. Unfortunately, by the time any one of these four players makes it to the quarterfinals, there is a good chance they will have played at least eight sets of tennis within the past four days.

The second quarter of the draw is by far the least predictable; while 4th seeded Andy Murray is the favorite to emerge into the semis, he may face tough competition from Gael Monfils or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Although many are beginning to doubt Andy’s chances at winning a Grand Slam, this year’s Aussie is looking rather bright. If Murray can manage double specialist Michael Llodra and break past Monfils (Murray holds a 3-2 series edge, although they have no played since 2010), a quarterfinal match against Tsonga may not seem too bad (Murray holds a 6-1 series edge.)

Now I will move on the bottom half of the draw in which only 8 players remain. Before I go into detail, let me say that the winner of the Australian Open is among these 8 men. More specifically, the champion will be an odd-seeded player. Oh, and the champion will have previously won the Australian Open. This leaves us with none other than the king himself, Roger Federer. Look, the guy has played a total of 6 sets of tennis so far. Most players will have played 12 by this point. Although his next opponent is a crowd favorite, Bernard Tomic is coming off a match which consisted of almost 350 grinding points. The biggest threat to Roger may come against Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarters, but don’t expect the master to let another title fall at the hands of the big-hitting Argentine (2009 US Open anyone?). Oh, and there is also this guy named Rafael Nadal… he may have a shot as well after he finishes complaining about the same ATP Tour that’s given him over $45 million.

In short, the only player I see breaking the steel curtain of the ‘Big 4’ is Juan Martin Del Potro. However, I would be surprised if less than three of the top four seeds did not make the semis. It makes you feel bad for other players of this era, but the stranglehold that these four men hold over the tour still remains underappreciated.

For more information about the 2012 Australian Open check out the website.