Mardy Fish has never been to a quarterfinal in a Grand Slam event, and has never advanced past the third round of the Australian Open. Beginning this week, he'll have a great chance to do both Down Under.

Fish, the top-ranked American in the world and the No. 8 seed in the 2012 Australian Open, has a favorable draw in the event. He can't face another seeded player until the third round, when he could meet No. 25-seeded Juan Monaco, and would only have to face Juan Martin Del Potro, well removed from his finest form, in the round of 16.

From there, things get a little harder: Fish could run up against Roger Federer in the quarterfinals and Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. But Fish, who lost to Bernard Tomic in the finals of a tune-up tournament last week, has about as good a chance against those two titans as any other player not named Novak Djokovic.

For more on the 2012 Australian Open, visit SB Nation's tennis hub and The Daily Forehand.