5 lowest-ranked men's singles champions at the Australian Open

#1 Mark Edmondson, world ranking - 212 (1976)

Mark Edmondson

212th-ranked Mark Edmondson scripted a fairy-tale run to the 1976 Australian Open title.

Making only his third Major appearance and second at the Australian Open in 1976, Edmondson dropped two sets against Austrian Peter Feigl in the first round. He then lost a set apiece in respective second and third round wins over Philip Dent and Brian Fairlie to reach his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal.

It was an all-Australian quarterfinal lineup, and Edmondson won his against Dick Crealey in straight sets. He then beat top seed and two-time champion Ken Rosewall in a four-set semifinal.

In the title match against two-time defending champion John Newcombe, there was little indication of the gargantuan upset in store when Edmondson lost the first set in a tiebreak. But Edmondson reeled off the next three sets 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 to script one of the biggest Grand Slam upsets in the Open Era and become the lowest ranked player to lift a Major title. Edmondson also remains the last Australian player to win the Australian Open.

The win lifted Edmondson from 212 to inside the top 40, at No. 37. Since Edmondson's epic run to the title, only one player ranked outside the top-100 has won a Grand Slam title - 125th-ranked wildcard Goran Ivanisevic, who beat Pat Rafter to win Wimbledon in 2001.

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