Top 5 performances by unseeded male tennis players in 2018

2018 has been a year of surprising performances from players who weren't widely popular. And these performances haven't been limited to a single tournament or an upset here and there either.

The average level of competition on the tour has risen steadily. A handful of players won their first ATP titles this year as well, with most of them being unseeded.

Right from the ATP 500 level to the Grand Slams, there have been plenty of brilliant performances from unheralded players. Some toppled multiple seeds on their way to the semifinals, finals and even titles, while some played the qualifiers but ended up appearing in big finals.

But the best thing that these players did was entertaining spectators all over the world; for people who enjoy a good underdog story, this was the year to live in.

Today we look at the top 5 such performances in 2018:

5. Marius Copil, Swiss Indoors

Marius Copil had a strong probability for an early exit from Basel when he faced Marin Cilic in Round 2 after entering the tournament via the qualifiers. But when he broke serve late into the first set, he looked as convincing as anyone in the draw.

He got the first set 7-5 and held on to his serve with grit in the second to drag it into the tiebreak. Copil just ran away with the breaker, winning it 7-2 to complete an unbelievable upset.

But he wasn't done just yet.

In the semifinals, the Romanian took the first set against the in-form Alexander Zverev, and it looked like another upset was possible. He served well in the second set as well, but lost it narrowly in the tiebreaker.

However, he quashed any of Zverev's comeback ideas, taking the decider comfortably (6-4).

With that, Copil had made his first ATP 500 final, and although he lost in straight sets to Federer, he gave a great account of himself.

4. Nikoloz Basilashvili, China Open

Nikoloz Basilashvili acknowledges the crowd after winning the China Open

Nikoloz Basilashvili won his first ATP title this July. It was a fantastic performance, especially considering he had to play the qualifiers to take part in the tournament.

But his best title victory surely has to be the China Open triumph, as he had to beat 3 top-20 players along the way.

In the very first round Basilashvili faced the powerful Jack Sock, who was ranked 18 at that time. He lost the first set in a close tiebreaker but was steady on serve in the second and took it 7-5. In the third set he battered Sock's serve and won the match by taking the set 6-2.

After reaching the semifinals unscathed, the Georgian played Kyle Edmund. He grabbed the first set in the tiebreak 8-6 and upped his return game in the second, winning it 6-4 to book a spot in the finals.

There, he managed to beat No. 1 seed Juan Martin del Potro fairly comfortably (6-4, 6-4) to get his hands on the trophy.

3. Borna Coric, Gerry Weber Open

Borna Coric with the Gerry Weber Open trophy

Borna Coric is now a highly regarded young gun who is quite popular. He is also one of the very few players to upset Federer twice in three months.

It all started when he thrashed Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-4 in his first match at the Gerry Weber open in July. The German had absolutely no answers to Coric's game, and couldn't hold his serve after the first game in the first set. The Croatian won 6 games in a row in the set on his way to an upset.

He cruised his way to the finals from then on, catching a lucky break in the semis as Roberto Bautista Agut retired due to injury.

Coric looked really good in the first set of the final against Federer, winning it in a close tiebreak. Federer then won the second set comfortably, and was looking set to complete a comeback win.

But Coric had other ideas, as he raced to take the decider 6-2 and lift the trophy.

2. Marco Cecchinato, French Open

By now Marco Cecchinato is a very familiar name in the tennis circuit. But before the French Open this year, that wasn't the case.

In the first round at France, the Italian was two sets down against Marius Copil. But he showed tremendous grit to dig out a win, taking the 5th set 10-8.

In the pre-quarterfinal match against David Goffin, Cecchinato took the first set but the 8th seed won the second. The unseeded player then won a set to love and proceeded to close out the match in the 4th set.

In the quarter-final he met the returning Djokovic and started well, winning the first two sets. But he was destroyed 6-1 in the third, and most people thought the Serb was on his way to one of his patented come-from-behind wins.

Cecchinato was down a break in the 4th set as well, but somehow took it into the tiebreak. After wasting a match point, he had to save set point three times.

Cecchinato eventually won the match by taking the breaker 13-11. He lost in the semifinal to Dominic Thiem, but the result was more than he could have possibly hoped for at the start of the tournament.

1. Karen Khachanov, Paris Masters

Karen Khachanov with the unique Paris Masters trophy

Karen Khachanov had had a bit of an up and down season in 2018. But that got a whole lot better in the last couple of weeks of his tennis calendar.

Having won the Kremlin Cup in October, Khachanov was in good form coming into the Paris Masters. He also had a bit of luck on his side, with Kyle Edmund withdrawing from their Round 3 clash.

In Round 4 he beat the 8th seed John Isner in a grueling contest which had two long tiebreakers - 6-4, 6-7(9-11), 7-6(10-8). During the quarterfinals he steamrolled past Alexander Zverev who had an injury niggle.

The Russian's level didn't drop from there as he beat Thiem in straight sets in the semifinal. But the way he played in the final against in-form Djokovic was something else.

After going a break down early he broke in the 11th game to bag the first set. The Russian didn't give Djokovic any chance in Set 3 as he eased to his first Masters title.

Edited by Musab Abid