MELBOURNE, Australia — After a quiet period, Russian men’s tennis is stirring again.

Near the turn of the century, Russia had two No. 1-ranked men’s players and Grand Slam champions in Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and the country won the Davis Cup in 2002 and 2006.

But since Safin’s retirement, in 2009, the country has fallen into relative obscurity on the men’s side, instead mainly drawing attention for its success in the upper echelons of the women’s game.

Hope is once again bubbling in the form of two young prospects, Karen Khachanov, 20, and Andrey Rublev, 19, who won their first-round matches at the Australian Open. And 207th-ranked Alexander Bublik, a 19-year-old Russian who represents Kazakhstan, pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the first round, defeating 16th-seeded Lucas Pouille of France.

Another Russian, Daniil Medvedev, 20, lost his first-round match on Tuesday, but has risen more than 250 spots in the rankings, to No. 63, in the past year.