Australian Open 2012: Women's Draw Underdogs Worth Watching on Jan. 19

Aside from Samantha Stosur bowing out in the first round to Sorana Cirstea, the 2012 Australian Open hasn't seen any monumental upsets in the women's bracket.

That's likely to change on Day 4 of the tournament. The talent on the women's side of things is as spread out as it's ever been, so there's really no telling when one of the top seeds might get bounced out of the tournament.

Or, if you prefer to look at it from the other perspective, which underdogs are going to make names for themselves.

If I were you, I'd keep my eyes on the underdogs in the three matches listed below. They might surprise you.

Jamie Hampton vs. Maria Sharapova (4)

At first glance, this is a matchup that should go Maria Sharapova's way, and it shouldn't be difficult. She may not be the best player in the world anymore, but she's still plenty good and she looked dominant in the first round against Gisela Dulko.

But don't count out Jamie Hampton. She impressed in the qualifying tournament to make the cut for the Open, and she then proceeded to make quick work of Mandy Minella in the first round, winning 6-1, 6-1.

The trick for Hampton will be to find a way to tire Sharapova out. Hampton needs to make her move around, which will take Sharapova away from her power game. We've seen opponents do that to her in the past, and the playing field is more than level when that happens.

We've also seen Sharapova lose matches that she shouldn't have lost recently. That could happen again, and Hampton is playing well enough at present to make it happen.

Vera Zvonareva (7) vs. Lucie Hradecka

Samantha Stosur was the only high seed to bite the dust in the first round, but Vera Zvonareva flirted with an early exit against Alexandra Dulgheru. It was a battle from the very start, and Zvonareva didn't really pull away until the third set.

Meanwhile, Lucie Hradecka, Zvonareva's opponent in the second round, had very little trouble against Evgeniya Rodina in the first round. Hradecka dispatched her 6-3, 6-1.

The danger for Zvonareva is not so much that Hradecka has enough talent to match her stride for stride. It doesn't, and it just so happens that Hradecka is better on clay than she is on hard court.

The bigger danger is the mere possibility that what we saw from Zvonareva in the first round was no fluke. For whatever reason, she may not be as strong in this tournament as we're used to seeing her, in which case it's a question of who will do the honors of knocking her out.

Sibine Lisicki (14) vs. Shahar Peer

Sibine Lisicki got off to a strong start against Stefanie Voegele in the first round, but Lisicki had to work to put her away. After winning just two games in the first set, Voegele won the second set 6-4 and then won four games in the third.

By comparison, Shahar Peer had a much easier time of things in the first round, defeating Isabella Holland 6-2, 6-0.

As good as Lisicki is, my issue with her is that you just can't rely on her in any given match no matter who she's playing. Sometimes you see her go deep into tournaments, and sometimes you see her flame out against lesser-known opponents.

For example, we can think back to when she lost in the first round of the WTA Tour Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in August of 2011.

To Shahar Peer.