A look at the Indian contenders at the Australian Open

The first grand slam of the year is here. And Indian contenders will look to beat the best of the sport to give people of India moment of great joy and pride.Like every year, Indians look favorites at the doubles edition. With Sania Mirza at the top her career, Leander Paes with his 25 years of experience, and Rohan Bopanna with a new partner in the form of 8-times grand slam champion Daniel Nestor, hopes of Australian open coming into hands of an indian are certainly high.Not just that, Yuki Bhambri will be the flag bearer of Indian contingent in the singles. This will be his grand slam main draw feature.We look in detail on Indian contenders competing in the Australian Open:

#1 Yuki Bhambri

The 22-year-old from New Delhi will feature in his first ever singles in any major championships at this Australian Open. Yuki Bhambri defeated his American counterpart in the final round of qualifier stage to qualify for the main draw of the Australian Open. He will face 6th seed Andy Murray in the first round on the opening day.

In 2009, at the age of 16, Yuki Bhambri became the 4th indian to win the junior grand slam championships after winning the Australian Open. On the professional tour, Bhambri largely featured in the challengers. In 2013, Bhambri won his first challenger in Australia and last year grabbed 2 more challenger titles.

The right handed Indian whose idol is Rafael Nadal appears in Davis Cup single rubber and has a 12-7 career singles record to his name.