The stars
'Stan the man' took some well-earned time off the tour after his maiden grand slam victory. The now world number three did rear his head for the Masters tournaments in the US in March, which resulted in two fourth-round appearances.
The 'big four' of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have had different post-Melbourne journeys. All bar Murray have lifted silverware, and the Scot recently ditched Ivan Lendl as coach. Nadal, who suffered a back injury in his final loss to Wawrinka, has been continuing to play through the pain, winning the title in Rio de Janeiro. All eyes will be on his fitness as the French Open - starting in May - gets ever closer. Federer was all class on his way to winning in Dubai, while Djokovic exacted revenge on his loss to the Swiss in the semi-finals in the UAE by beating him in the Indian Wells decider to claim the first Masters event of 2014. Djokovic confirmed his return to form by doing the March Masters double for the second time in his career, reigning in Miami after downing Nadal in the final.
The stars-to-be
Kei Nishikori lost to Nadal in the fourth round in Melbourne, in a high-quality affair. The Japanese man was stiff not to snare at least one set that day, but he has franked that form with a title win at the indoor event in Memphis. That said, Nishikori did not face an opponent ranked higher than 80th on his way to the title, but a good run to the Miami semi-finals saw him beat some more qualified opponents, such as Federer, David Ferrer and Grigor Dimitrov.
Croatia's Marin Cilic is a man on a mission in 2014. After missing four months of last season due to a doping ban, Cilic was the first man to 50 tour-level match wins this calendar year, in which he has claimed titles in Zagreb and Delray Beach. One of his best periods was almost serving Djokovic a bagel at Indian Wells, however he would go on to lose to the Serbian star in three sets, before falling at the first hurdle in Miami.
Latvia's Ernests Gulbis and Bulgaria's Dimitrov have been prevalent since contrasting fortunes in Melbourne. Dimitrov reached the quarter-finals at a major for the first time, falling to Nadal in a tight four-setter. Since, he claimed the title in Acapulco on clay, before bombing out in the third rounds of Indian Wells and Miami. Gulbis mastered Dimitrov in California, but lost to the Bulgarian on his way to winning his title in Mexico. Gulbis' loss came directly after his own title success in Marseille, where he knocked out three Frenchmen in succession - including Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - to win his fifth career title.
The medical room
The biggest news - Nadal's problematic back aside - has been Juan Martin Del Potro's wrist surgery. The 'Tower of Tandil' underwent the knife in March, and is sidelined indefinitely.
Tommy Haas' veteran body is showing signs of wear and tear, with a shoulder injury cutting short his Australian Open in the first round, before the problem reared again in the Sao Paulo semi-finals, where he had to retire injured. Haas turns 36 on April 3.
Vasek Pospisil has not won a match on tour since crawling over the line against Matthew Ebden on Rod Laver Arena in January. The Canadian pulled out of his third-round encounter in Melbourne due to his bad back, and lost first-round matches in Acapulco, Indian Wells, Miami and also at a Challenger event in Texas.
The kids
Dominic Thiem is a name you will hear sooner rather than later. The Austrian, 20, qualified in Melbourne, and reached the second round where he lost to Kevin Anderson. He went on to qualify for the main draw in Rotterdam, where he took a set off Andy Murray in his second-round loss. Thiem continued to earn his keep admirably, qualifying for both the Masters events in March. He beat Gilles Simon on his way to the last-32 at Indian Wells, and claimed another main-draw win in Miami before losing to Tommy Robredo.
American lefty Bradley Klahn is a youngster of sorts, with the 23-year-old only turning professional in 2012. Klahn racked up the miles earlier in the year, going from Melbourne - where he lost in the first round to Dimitrov - to Hawaii, then back to Adelaide. It proved a worthwhile journey, though, as he collected two Challenger titles in the process. He has been unable to transform his lower-tier success into tour-level wins though, losing first-up at Delray Beach, Indian Wells and Miami.
The journeymen
Stephane Robert weaved his way into the fourth round as a lucky loser at Melbourne Park, where he took a set off Andy Murray in dogged fashion. The Frenchman, 33, crash landed back to reality, failing to win a main-draw tour match in three attempts, before breaking his run in Miami against Alex Bogomolov Jr before a second-round loss to Tomas Berdych.
Paolo Lorenzi is your old-fashioned clay-courter. The Italian is 32, and did not even bother making the trip to Australia, where he would have had to qualify for main-draw honours - but bypassing a place where he has a 0-5 win-loss record was a no-brainer. While the Australian Open was in its second week, Lorenzi was busy making his way to the final of a Challenger event in Bucaramanga (lost to Alejandro Falla). He went on to reach the tour-level final in Sao Paulo - lost to Federico Delbonis - with both of those final appearances coming on clay. One to watch in the early rounds at Roland Garros, no doubt.
Title winners since Australian Open
Montpellier - Gael Monfils
Zagreb - Marin Cilic
Vina del Mar - Fabio Fognini
Rotterdam - Tomas Berdych
Memphis - Kei Nishikori
Buenos Aires - David Ferrer
Rio de Janeiro - Rafael Nadal
Marseille - Ernests Gulbis
Delray Beach - Marin Cilic
Dubai - Roger Federer
Acapulco - Dimitrov
Sao Paulo - Federico Delbonis (first career title)
Indian Wells (Masters) - Novak Djokovic
Miami (Masters) - Novak Djokovic