Australian Open 2015: Stars in Pursuit of 1st Title Helped Most by Draw Results

Since it's the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, the Australian Open tends to benefit those in search of their first major title.

The men's draw has been rather predictable of late, but you had Stan Wawrinka putting it all together in the final and upsetting Rafael Nadal last year. There were also the three years when Marcos Baghdatis, Fernando Gonzalez and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all made the final.

The women's side has also been a by-the-numbers affair, with names such as Serena Williams, Li Na, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Kim Clijsters littering the list of recent finalists. Dominika Cibulkova made her first Grand Slam final last year, adding a fresh face to the scene.

It's impossible to accurately predict how each side of the tournament will unfold, but the seedings and the brackets at least provide a road map for who may have to meet whom en route to the final.

The draw for the 2015 Australian Open arguably helped the following three players the most as they chase their first triumph Down Under.

Kei Nishikori

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The men's draw is pretty much a mine field. Every quarter is loaded with either Nadal, Wawrinka, Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.

Kei Nishikori lucks out—if you can call it that—in that he is in the same quarter as Wawrinka:

Nishikori should be optimistic because the last men's champion not named Djokovic or Federer to repeat at the Aussie Open was Andre Agassi in 2001. The tournament hasn't been kind to reigning champs. In addition, Nishikori won the only match between himself and Wawrinka in five sets at last year's U.S. Open.

Looking at the earlier rounds for the 25-year-old, he could get David Ferrer, whom he beat on all four occasions in 2014, in the fourth round. Gilles Simon might also be tricky in the third round.

All in all, it's nothing Nishikori can't handle. He beat Djokovic at the U.S. Open last year, so he has experience in that regard as well.

As ESPN.com's Howard Bryant wrote, there's no reason the Japanese star can't claim his place among the best in 2015:

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If Nishikori can compete against Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray as he did a year ago, there is no one on tour to fear. Nishikori has a chance to be the new Ferrer with more power. It is no small component, but a better serve stands between him and a major title. The rest Nishikori has proved he can handle.

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Eugenie Bouchard

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After a wildly successful 2014, which included two semifinals and a final, it seems only a matter of time before Eugenie Bouchard captures a Grand Slam championship. The 2014 Australian Open sparked last season's brilliant run.

Speaking ahead of this year's tournament, the 20-year-old Canadian mentioned that she's lost the element of surprise in Melbourne, per The Independent's Paul Newman:

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Of course I know I’m in a different position this year. Last year I was more hunting and now I'm more like the hunted. I probably have a bit more of a target on my back. But I see that as motivating. As they say, it's hard to get there but even harder to stay there. So that's my challenge.

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Sports Illustrated's Courtney Nguyen wrote after the draw that Bouchard couldn't have hoped for a better road to the final. She'll have some tough matchups, but that comes with the territory:

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After two fairly straight-forward opponents, she's projected to face a struggling Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round, Angelique Kerber in the fourth round, and Sharapova in the quarterfinals. Looming in the semifinals could be (Ana) Ivanovic or (Simona) Halep. It won't be an easy second week, but if she conserves her energy in the first four rounds she'll be in good stead to make a title challenge.

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It will be interesting to see how Bouchard performs at the Australian Open this year. The weight of expectations can be a massive burden, and nobody will be taking her lightly any more. She's enormously gifted but still young.

Is Bouchard going to take that next step in 2015?

Ekaterina Makarova

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The biggest key to survival at the tournament might be avoiding Serena Williams until the last minute. Ekaterina Makarova benefits in that respect, with a potential date with Williams only coming in the final.

Makarova might have some major hurdles to climb in the shape of Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round and Simona Halep in the quarterfinals. The 26-year-old Russian owns a 1-1 record against Ivanovic and lost her only match against Halep. Makarova is also in the same half as Maria Sharapova, to whom she's lost all five matches between the two and twice in Melbourne.

As if that's not enough, Makarova lost to Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round at the Apia International Sydney.

But that defeat could serve as a wake-up call for Makarova. She's made the quarterfinals on two occasions in this tournament, and Ivanovic and Halep are beatable when Makarova is on her game.