Andy Murray: The Forgotten Contender at the Australian Open?

So far, most of the talk on the men's side of the draw at this year's Australian Open has been on Rafael Nadal's quest to complete his "Rafa Slam" and whether or not Roger Federer is back to his dominating ways. Or Fernando Verdasco saving match points in his second-round win. Or Novak Djokovic having a pretty easy go of it so far.

But how about the headlines for the player who finished second at last year's Aussie, Andy Murray?

Murray's probably content to let the attention drift away from him as he's carried the hopes of the entire United Kingdom over the past few years. Everyone knows the story: There hasn't been a Grand Slam men's champ in singles since Fred Perry decades ago. That's been a heavy weight to carry for British players ranging from John Lloyd to Jeremy Bates to Greg Rusedski to Tim Henman.

And Murray might be the best of those latter four. With the exception of the French Open, Murray can be considered a contender for the rest of the Major titles. He's made the finals at the U.S. Open, too, and is twice a semifinalist at his "home" Slam, Wimbledon.

Despite finishing runner-up at the Australian, '10 wasn't a banner year for Murray. He didn't win a title until the summer hard-court season and even lost his spot among the "Big Four" in the rankings. He finished in the four slot, but already has relinquished that to the man who bumped him out last year, the dangerous, big-hitting Swede Robin Soderling, whom he's drawn to play in the quarterfinals.

Murray hasn't been tested so far in this tournament, but that can change today against the Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who's been playing the best tennis of his career over the past few months.

If he gets past Garcia-Lopez, Murray would play the winner of two of the game's best shotmakers, Jurgen Melzer and Marcos Baghdatis. Soderling, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nadal all are lurking in the distance, providing as tough a draw as anyone can imagine.

But with most of the talk and subsequent pressure lying elsewhere, perhaps Murray can be the last man left standing at the Australian Open. He'd better take advantage of it while he can.