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

#1: Stan Wawrinka - 2014

Stanislas Wawrinka lifts the 2014 Australian Open title

Having made a trio of quarterfinals earlier, Stan Wawrinka made his Grand Slam breakthrough at the 36th time of asking at the 2014 Australian Open.

The 'other Swiss' dethroned three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in a five-set quarterfinal before taking out Tomas Berdych in a four-set semifinal featuring three tiebreaks.

The imposing figure of 13-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal stood between Wawrinka and a maiden Grand Slam title. Nadal had not dropped a set against Wawrinka in 12 previous meetings, and hadn't lost to a first-time Grand Slam finalist in 3 previous matchups (2005 French Open: beat Mariano Puerta, 2010 Wimbledon: beat Tomas Berdych, 2013 French Open: beat David Ferrer).

But both stats would change on a day Wawrinka belied overwhelming odds and exhibited little stage fright in the biggest match of his career. Blazing his laser-like single-handed backhand to devastating effect, Wawrinka punctured Nadal's baseline game to take a two-set lead for the loss of just five games.

With a swift ending in sight exacerbated by Nadal's injury at the end of the second set, the Spaniard drew inspiration from the crowd. He stopped the rot and took the third set, much against the run of play.

Stung by the momentary lapse, Wawrinka soon re-asserted his momentum to become the 53rd different player in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title, and the 26th different player (Nadal being the 25th) to reign at the Australian Open. The Swiss' breakthrough came in his 36th appearance at a Major.

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